Police chief requests video release of alleged chemical use

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — The police chief in North Carolina’s largest city says he’ll ask the state’s courts to release video of an encounter in which police officers appeared to use chemical agents on demonstrators who were boxed in while protesting the death of George Floyd.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said Wednesday that Chief Kerr Putney was set to immediately petition the courts for the videos’ release.

The clash was recorded Tuesday by a witness who said officers fired tear gas and flash-bangs from in front of and behind the trapped protesters.

Officials said the State Bureau of Investigation was reviewing the situation.