Raleigh Police begin internal investigation after arrests of two protesters
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Police Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown has ordered an internal investigation into some of her officers after two people were arrested during a downtown Raleigh protest Thursday night.
“Based on my initial review of the body camera footage, I am concerned by the actions of some of our officers,” Deck-Brown said during a Friday news conference. “Based on that, I’ve asked internal affairs to conduct a full investigation of this matter.”
Raleigh Police arrested two people, including a minor, drawing criticism from protesters in attendance as well as two City Council members on social media about how the arrests were handled. The police department has petitioned the court system to release the officers’ body-worn cameras — something the police department has done in other controversial arrests or incidents.
Deck-Brown said the juvenile who was detained was released to her parents with no charges filed. The second woman appeared before a magistrate on charges, but Deck-Brown said she has asked the district attorney’s office to dismiss those charges.
Police did not identify the people arrested, but Taari Coleman, one of the leaders of the NC Born activist group, told a crowd Friday afternoon that she was the adult who was cited.
“They dropped all charges against your girl,” Coleman said downtown during a Juneteenth protest.
The Raleigh Police Department posted the following on Facebook: “Officers arrested a juvenile female who assaulted a law enforcement officer as he tried to get a group to stop obstructing traffic. An accompanying adult female was detained and cited for resist, delay, obstruct; she was subsequently released,” the police department said.
Deck-Brown said she decided charges weren’t warranted and an investigation was needed after reviewing social media videos of the incident as well as the officers’ body-camera footage.
An email to the Wake County District Attorney’s Office was not returned Friday afternoon.
The arrests occurred as the protesters were on Hillsborough Street near the intersection of McDowell Street.
In previous demonstrations this month, Deck-Brown said, Raleigh Police have blocked traffic to help keep protesters safe.
“Yesterday evening, we had a group who changed their tactics,” she said. “Members of the group ran into the intersections, jamming traffic and creating hazards and other safety concerns. Our officers attempted to coordinate with them to direct traffic around them for their safety.”
After two pedestrians were struck and killed by cars over the last three days, Deck-Brown said, the officers wanted to get the protesters out of the street to prevent any injuries.
“We clearly don’t want to see this happen to our protesters,” Deck-Brown said.
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin wrote on Facebook that she supports the police chief’s decision to investigate as well as peaceful protests in Raleigh.
“I support the Police Chief’s request to have this incident investigated and any potential misconduct that this reveals should result in consequences for those involved,” she said. “Like many of you, I am committed to working with our community members and newly appointed citizen police advisory board to review and improve police practices to best serve and protect our city.”
Social media posts
Videos posted on social media, including on the Raleigh Police Department’s Facebook page, show a chaotic scene as the arrests took place, and the aftermath as the two people were put in the back of a police van. The videos do not show what led up to the arrest, but a young woman is seen being dragged on the sidewalk before being led to the van.
“An incident occurred between our police officer and a protester, which was initially reported as an assault on a law enforcement officer,” Deck-Brown said.
Protesters are heard shouting at police to let the younger protester go. They say they were having a peaceful protest and questioned why the arrests happened.
“This is why we’re here,” one protester shouts at the police.
Some police are seen shouting back while others maintain crowd control. One officer yells at protesters while holding a wooden baton and approaching the protesters. Another officer says the protesters were blocking a motorcycle, which he said is considered assault.
Protesters have been marching in downtown Raleigh and around the country since a police officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, resulting in his death. Protesters have called for police reform, the end to racism, removing Confederate statues, and to remember people who have been killed by police.
In Raleigh, protests turned destructive on the first two nights of rallies — May 30 and 31 — and at least 45 people were arrested. The city had a curfew for a week.
But since June 1, daily Black Lives Matter protests in Raleigh have been peaceful with no arrests. Police often have been present for traffic control but have not engaged with the protesters.
City Council members criticize arrests
Raleigh City Councilman Saige Martin criticized the arrests on Twitter, writing, “Let’s get one thing straight: we DO NOT arrest peaceful protestors in the City of Raleigh. Both individuals detained this evening are black. Both are queer. One is a minor. This conduct is disgusting.”
Martin, in a Facebook post Friday morning, said, “They are organizers who have been leading and training people everyday in downtown Raleigh on how to peacefully protest. I have a lot more to say and it is forthcoming.”
He said it’s another reason why he plans to bring forward a proposal that “defunds and re-allocates RPD funds to truly focus on the safety, well-being and health of our black community.”
The council unanimously voted to increase the police department’s budget by $1.1 million for a total of $111 million this week. That increase covered pay increases, health insurance and benefit increases. The council didn’t approve a nearly $3 million request to expand the police department to cover additional officers.
With a city as large as Raleigh, resources are already limited in the police department, Deck-Brown said Friday in response to Martin’s comments.
“When you thin those resources, you see worse policing,” she said. “We have seen that across the country as well.
A second Raleigh City Councilman, Jonathan Melton, posted a statement on Twitter, saying he watched the videos of the arrests.
“What I watched was disturbing and unacceptable to me,” Melton said. “I spoke with city staff this morning, and they are collecting the officers’ body cameras and reviewing all information.”
The results of individual internal affairs investigations are not made public. In 2019, 29 citizen complaints were filed to the Raleigh Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit. Of those, 15 were sustained, meaning “facts exist which prove specific allegations or other wrongdoing.”
For years, protesters and community members have called for more police accountability with the City Council creating a police advisory board earlier this year. The first members were appointed this week.
However, that board will not “conduct investigations, hear testimony or contribute to disciplinary action,” leading some community organizations to call it “toothless.”
Friday is Juneteenth, and several events and protests are organized in Raleigh, Durham and around the country.
Staff writer Emily Leiker contributed to this article
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Raleigh Police begin internal investigation after arrests of two protesters."
