Jason Dow, Scottie Wingfield and Laura Brooks can breathe a sigh of relief now, after they were acquitted on charges of resisting arrest and obstructing officers after their January arrests. They were arrested during a protest which involved camping outside of the old City Hall. The Occupy Charlotte movement had been there since October.
These three, as well as other protesters, were arrested because of a city ordinance that prohibits sleeping in tents or preparing to sleep on property that belongs to the city.
Although the Occupy Charlotte members didn't agree with the laws, they adhered to them by removing all of their personal belongings from their tents and refrained from sleeping in them. They directed their focus on making art on the mesh-covered tents to voice their concerns.
Throughout the entire incident, CMPD maintained a positive relationship with the occupiers. One member of Occupy Charlotte stated that the anti-camping ordinances were poorly written and therefore hard to enforce. Nevertheless, city attorney Bob Hageman made a statement saying that the ordinances are still ion effect, even though the three occupiers were found acquitted.
