A local activist facing charges connected to an early-June incident with police had those charges dismissed Friday. In the early hours of June 1 Myles Carter was tackled and arrested while being interviewed by a WIVB-4 news crew on Bailey Avenue after a protest in front of Buffalo Police's E District station.
Video of the incident quickly went viral. Carter was charged with Obstruction of Governmental Administration and Disorderly Conduct.
Speaking outside of the Buffalo City Courthouse Friday morning, Carter, surrounded by supporters, said his case is an example of the injustices being perpetrated against African Americans in the United States.
“This is the decade that we’re supposed to be fixing the problems for Black people,” he said. “The entire world recognizes the travesty that is being committed against Black people in America.”
Carter said he is heartened to see Black Lives Matter protests spring up in other parts of the world, and to know Black people in America no longer feel as if they stand alone in the fight for equality.
“And the reason why we haven’t been able to stand,” he said. “Is because they continue to kill our leaders.”
Carter believes a successful push for equality locally can earn Buffalo national recognition as a city leading the fight for social justice causes.
On the dismissal of the charges against Carter, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn released a statement Friday saying the charges were “facially insufficient” and “unsupported by the information provided by law enforcement.” However, Flynn said the New York State Police can properly re-file charges against Carter, and if they do so, his office would “review the matter again.”
