The goal of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department following the decision in the Randall Kerrick trial was to maintain a safe environment for our community and for those who wished to exercise their right to lawfully demonstrate.

Our strategic operations plan was coordinated through the CMPD command center in conjunction with local partners.  The command center was operational from 3:00 p.m. through 11:45 p.m., on August 21, 2015.

CMPD officers immediately began to encounter peaceful protesters following court proceedings and worked with organizers to facilitate lawful demonstrations. Officers subsequently observed the crowd transition from peaceful protestors to a younger, more aggressive group of demonstrators as the events of the night developed.

At approximately 9:00 p.m., demonstrators began throwing rocks at officers. The CMPD Civil Emergency Unit was deployed, quickly deescalated the situation and restored order.

There were two suspects arrested for assault on officers during the hours of operation of the command center. The officers assaulted were not seriously injured.