Troopers charge 3 after Interstate 40 slowdown in Raleigh to protest racism
The State Highway Patrol arrested three people accused of driving 10 mph on Interstate 40 in Raleigh on Wednesday to protest systemic racism.
No group organized the I-40 slowdown, but Young Americans Protest helped publicize it. Protesters were asked to drive 10 mph on the interstate from 8:46 to 9:30 a.m.
The start time was a reference to the 8 minutes and 46 seconds that a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee into the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minnesota. Floyd’s death led to protests against racism and police brutality in the United States, including weeks of protests in Raleigh.
Taari Coleman, 27, one of the organizers of N.C. BORN, a group leading the local protests, was one of the people arrested Wednesday and charged with careless and reckless driving.
Kristina Breneman, 36, and Rachel Jones, 35, were also arrested on the same charge, the N.C. State Highway Patrol stated in a news release.
All three were taken into custody without incident, the release stated.
It is a misdemeanor to ”willfully stand, sit, or lie upon the highway or street in such a manner as to impede the regular flow of traffic.”
“The vehicles in question were traveling at approximately 10 miles per hour while blocking all westbound travel lanes to include the emergency lane,” the release stated.
“This morning’s protest on one of our state’s major thoroughfares placed motorists in needless danger,” said Col. Glenn McNeill Jr., commander of the State Highway Patrol. “The actions demonstrated by the protesters involved increased the probability for collisions to occur, potentially resulting in serious injury or death. Our response echoed the Highway Patrol’s commitment to public safety.”
Zainab Baloch, a former Raleigh mayoral candidate and Young Americans Protest co-founder, said the slowdown sought to bring more attention to demands to defund police and hold them accountable.
In Raleigh “the City Council has yet to do any kind of comprehensive police reform,” she said. “It’s unacceptable.”
Despite calls to defund the police, the City Council approved a $1.1 million increase for the Raleigh Police Department as part of the city budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. It did not include money for additional positions, The News & Observer reported.
The council also agreed to hire an outside consultant to review police actions during the protests. The consultant, 21CP Solutions, was criticized for being run largely by former police.
During the first two nights of Raleigh protests, police shot foam grenades and launched tear gas into crowds.
Raleigh police said they have adopted eight policies to reduce use-of-force, including a ban on choke holds.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 5:24 PM.