Charges against a Greensboro teenager involved in a controversial incident with police have been dismissed. A plea ended the criminal case of 16-year-old Jose Charles, whose arrest last year led to demands of increased transparency in the city.
Charles was taken into custody following a confrontation with police during a city July 4 celebration last year. He was charged with four crimes, including resisting an officer and assaulting an officer.
Police say they acted appropriately. Supporters have questioned that. Last week, they shut down a city council meeting, pushing for the release of police body cam footage. Eight people were arrested in the wake of the protest.
In court Thursday, the charges connected to the confrontation were dismissed after Charles pleaded guilty to unrelated breaking and entering offenses.
His mother, Tamara Figueroa, says the protests made a difference in getting the charges dropped.
“All of these people, all of the marching, all of the protesting, that part worked,” she says. “But the process didn't work.”
Charles stood by his mother's side while she answered questions from the media but did not comment.
Figueroa says she doesn't trust the Greensboro Police Department. As to what it would take to earn it, she says that would require releasing the police video and apologizing to her son.
She says she wants the video of the incident preserved. The family has seen the footage, as has the city council and a citizen review board. But it has not been made available to the public.