CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Protests continue around the country in response to the death of George Floyd.

What You Need To Know


  • In Charlotte, a controversial video involving CMPD and tear gas has sparked outrage in the community over crowd control tactics

  • City council member Braxton Winston is calling on council to stop funding tear gas for CMPD

  • A former CMPD officer says tear gas is a necessary tool, but needs to be "reigned in" and limited at protests

After a controversial video in Charlotte showed protesters being trapped with tear gas, one city council member is calling for change.

Braxton Winston, Charlotte City Council Member at Large, has been on the front lines of protests since 2016 and knows how painful tear gas can be.

“It feels like you’re dying,” he says. “It feels like you’re dying from the inside out.”

Winston says after seeing a viral video by the “Queen City Nerve” from Tuesdays protests, he feels it’s time to put down the tear gas. The video shows protesters barricaded with tear gas, then shot at with pepper balls.

“I was disgusted and alarmed by why happened Tuesday night to the group of peaceful protesters,” says Winston.

Winston says he plans to file a motion Monday at city council to “guide the administration to prevent the purchase of chemical agents used for crowd control.”

“The city of Charlotte and CMPD have not been able to employ the de-escalation tactics that we committed to implementing four years ago,” he says.

Lee Ratliff, a former CMPD officer and now private security guard, says the video is disturbing.

“In my personal opinion, that’s something that belongs on a battlefield. It’s not something that you should be doing with a peaceful protest,” Ratliff says.

Ratliff says tear gas is still a necessary tool for officers to have in case things get out of hand.

“I would prefer [CMPD] to use it over them having to use deadly force or some of the other levels of force,” he says. “I think it’s a way that you can still gain compliance, direction, and guidance with folks when you’re trying to control a crowd. So, it is an effective tool.”

Ratliff says the key is making sure tear gas doesn’t become a normal occurrence at protests.

The State Bureau of Investigations has been called in to investigate Tuesday night’s incident involving CMPD and protesters.