Police, protesters face off in Elizabeth City after curfew. At least 6 arrested.
Two hours after an 8 p.m. curfew took effect in Elizabeth City on Tuesday, police in riot gear and protesters engaged in a standoff in the street. At least six protesters were arrested.
At moments, police and protesters stood mere inches apart.
Elizabeth City has been the focus of national attention since last Wednesday, when Andrew Brown Jr. was shot by Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies serving search and arrest warrants related to felony drug charges.
Tensions have intensified as Brown’s family and attorneys have sought the release of body-cam footage.
At about 10 p.m. Tuesday, police marched slowly toward about two dozen remaining protesters who had not left, chanting, “Move back!”
Officers threatened tear gas and munitions. They wore tactical gear and carried clubs.
Protesters yelled taunts at police.
“Why are you in riot gear?” they called. “There’s no riot here!”
Four people, including the Rev. Curtis Gatewood, lay in Elizabeth Street, waiting for arrest as they sang “Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around.”
All four were arrested, along with at least two others.
At one point, Gatewood asked police, “Where were you when they were tearing down the U.S. Capitol?”
Protesters have peacefully protested in Elizabeth City each night since last week. Tuesday was the first night Elizabeth City had an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew in place.
Nearly 200 people had protested through the streets of town earlier in the evening, chanting “No charges, no peace!” and “Release the tape! The real tape! The whole tape!”
Also Tuesday, attorneys for the Brown family held an emotional news conference where they discussed a private autopsy. It showed that Pasquotank deputies fired a “kill shot to the back of the head,” lawyers said.
The Rev. William Barber II and other faith leaders held a meeting and news conference in Elizabeth City on Tuesday afternoon. They called on North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein to take over the case, saying that local authorities were “inept, incompetent and incapable.”
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called Tuesday for a special prosecutor to investigate Brown’s death. And the FBI has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting.
By 11 p.m. Tuesday, arrests had been made and police were leaving to shouts of “Shame on you!”
A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Pasquotank County Courthouse regarding a petition for the release of the body-cam footage.
