CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Days after a viral video appeared to show Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers using tear gas and pepper balls on protesters in uptown Charlotte, City Councilman Braxton Winston is proposing the city stop funding chemical agents for the police department.
During a news conference Friday morning, Winston detailed his proposal, saying he will raise the issue at Monday's City Council meeting. If approved, Winston said his proposal would only affect future purchases of chemical agents, not CMPD's current stockpile.
"Chemical agents should not be used on human beings by other human beings," Winston said. "This is not a core value of de-escalation."
The second part of Winston's plan would create an oversight committee to scrutinize police spending and policies.
WCNC Charlotte's Alex Shabad will have a full report on Winston's proposal at 5 p.m. Friday. You can watch that report live on WCNC Charlotte, as well as on the WCNC Charlotte app.
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Winston was arrested during protests last week a charge of failing to disperse. He was one of several protesters taken into custody outside CMPD's station on Beatties Ford Road last Friday. Winston's campaign said in a statement he was trying to keep things peaceful between demonstrators and police.
"He went in an attempt to de-escalate the tensions between the police and the citizens of Charlotte," the statement reads, in part. "During the time he was out there, he was in communication with CMPD, press, community leaders, and protesters."