Charge against man arrested during protest dismissed
Charges against a man who was arrested during a protest in front of the county courthouse last summer have been dismissed.
Scotty Reid, 56, was arrested July 22 and charged with picketing and parading for standing on the sidewalk in front of the Gaston County Courthouse.
His arrest came after Gaston County deputies forced protestors off the sidewalk, telling them that they couldn't come within 300 feet of the courthouse.
The group was there to protest the death of 21-year-old Jason Lipscomb, who was shot and killed on July 20, 2022, by Gastonia Police officers.
Reid initially did not intend to protest. He was filming for his media company, Black Talk Media Project.
When sheriff's deputies told the protestors to get off the sidewalk, he decided to take a stand.
He refused to move.
"I wasn't saying nothing. I was just out there recording. And I didn't become a protestor until he told people they couldn't stand on that sidewalk," Reid said at the time.
Reid said in July that he felt the arrest was a violation of his First Amendment rights, and he intended to take the case to trial if necessary, but when he went to court in December, a prosecutor called him to the front of the courtroom.
The prosecutor "said something about (how) he thought it was stupid anyway," telling Reid that the charge against him was being dismissed.
District Attorney Travis Page said the charge was dismissed because the arresting officer did not show up for court.
Reid said he felt the entire process was a waste of his time.
"I feel like it was a complete waste of my time, a complete waste of the court's time, a complete waste of money, and then not to even prosecute me," he said.
Reid's arrest came the same week that a different group of protestors came out to support Joshua Rohrer.
Rohrer's group rallied in front of the courthouse July 19, demanding that body camera footage of Rohrer's arrest be released. Nobody from Rohrer's group was arrested.
Rohrer and Reid are both military veterans.
Reid feels that the arresting officers discriminated against him, and he was disappointed in community leaders for not speaking against it.
"Yes, considering the discriminatory fashion that Black protestors for Jason Lipscomb were treated," he said. "Any leader could have spoken out in defense of the First Amendment, and none did, but it was particularly disappointing that no Black leaders said anything about the mistreatment of Black people on a public street."
As for Lipscomb's case, District Attorney Travis Page has not yet announced his decision on whether any police officers will be charged in Lipscomb's death, but all of the Gastonia Police officers involved in the shooting have been cleared to work again except one. That officer was hit by the car Lipscomb was driving as Lipscomb tried to escape from police, and he is still recovering, the police department said.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County veteran gets protest charge dismissed
