Protesters hold peaceful demos

Protesters took to Charlotte's streets for a third straight night and defied a midnight curfew in the US city early Friday, amid heavy security aimed at preventing more clashes over the fatal police shooting of a black man.

Hundreds marched to the city police station carrying signs saying "Stop killing us" and "Resistance is beautiful," but the atmosphere was far calmer than the previous two nights.

Several hundred protesters remained on the street following the midnight curfew, but security forces took a hands off approach and did not enforce the restriction.