Charlotte Stays Largely Peaceful During 3rd Night Of Protest
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A third night of protests over a fatal police shooting in Charlotte gave way to quiet streets early Friday after the city's mayor enacted a curfew and rifle-toting members of the National Guard arrived to guard the city's business district.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts issued the curfew order Thursday night, to be in effect from midnight until 6 a.m. each day that the state of emergency continues.
Charlotte officials say the order was issued "to more effectively protect the lives.''
The largely peaceful Thursday night demonstrations called on police to release video that could resolve wildly different accounts of the fatal police shooting of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott on Tuesday.
Demonstrators chanted "release the tape'' and "we want the tape'' while briefly blocking an intersection near Bank of America headquarters and later climbing the steps to the door of the city government center.
Later, several dozen demonstrators walked onto an interstate highway through the city, but they were pushed back by police in riot gear.
Protests were violent Tuesday and Wednesday night. The curfew makes exceptions for law enforcement, medical, utility and news media, but police said it's not being enforced as long as the city remains calm.
Police said Scott was shot after refusing commands to drop a gun, but his family claims he was holding a book.
The police chief said videos support the police account, but don't definitively show Scott holding a gun. The Scott family attorney said it's impossible to tell what, if anything, Scott was holding.
For now, the videos are not being released to the public.
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