Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has declared a state of emergency as rioting breaks out for the third night in the city while protests over George Floyd’s death spread across America.
Frey’s office declared a local emergency Thursday night due to civil disturbances after the National Guard and state troopers were drafted in and fires broke out again in stores across the city.
The announcement came as prosecutors warned Thursday there is ‘evidence that does not support criminal charges’ in the case of four cops accused of killing Floyd, sparking fears that the police officers will continue to walk free.
Break-off protests over Floyd’s death are building, with NYPD officers seen brawling on the ground with protesters as at least 40 people were arrested in the Big Apple.
In Denver, panic erupted when shots were fired at the Colorado State Capitol where hundreds had marched to demand justice over Floyd’s death.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: A car was torched in the third day of riots over Floyd’s death
Minneapolis, Minnesota: There were scenes of destruction in the city Thursday night as Floyd’s death sparked outrage
Minneapolis, Minnesota: A man throws a mannequin onto a burning car in the parking lot of a Target store
Minneapolis, Minnesota: A police officer stands in a cloud of tear gas during the protest
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fires broke out again in stores and cars across the city
Floyd’s death has sparked outrage, after footage surfaced Monday showing white cop Derek Chauvin kneeling on the black man’s neck for eight minutes until he passed out and later died.
Authorities had claimed Floyd resisted arrest but new footage Wednesday cast fresh doubt on those claims, showing two cops forcibly removing him from his car and him appearing to comply with officers.
Protesters in Minneapolis started gathering in the streets for a third day Thursday.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the National Guard to the city and state troopers have been called in as it braces for another night of violence.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Thursday he believes George Floyd would still be alive today if he had been a white man
Mayor Jacob Frey has called for the white officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck to be criminally charged on Wednesday. Derek Chauvin (pictured) was seen pinning him down in video footage that was widely shared on Tuesday
CCTV footage from a nearby restaurant shows part of the altercation between Floyd and the officers on the scene. A handcuffed Floyd sits on the ground as a police officer, who was not seen in the original viral video, speaks to him before picking him up and holding him against the wall
Frey called for the declaration of emergency as the city requested assistance from the state in ‘restoring safety and calm due to the civil disturbance’.
The emergency declaration will stay in place for 72 hours and allows officials to deploy emergency regulations with immediate effect.
Protesters came out for a third day Thursday in what has been escalating levels of violence and chaos across the city.
Footage showed the Target store being the location for much of the rioting for another day as rioters were seen hurling the retailer’s shopping karts at a police cruiser in the store parking lot.
As night fell, a man was pictured throwing a mannequin onto a burning car in the parking lot as smoke filled the city.
Police in riot gear hit out at protesters again with tear gas sprayed into the crowds.
In the nearby St. Paul’s region of Minnesota, rioters threw rocks and stones at a cop car and it was left smashed up with a tree branch ripping through the windows.
Protests ramped up across the nation Thursday as anger grows that four days on from Floyd’s death no arrests have been made.
New York City, New York: A protester is detained by police during a rally against the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd
New York City, New York: Things turned ugly in Union Square in the Big Apple with scenes of NYPD officers and protesters clashing
New York City, New York: A woman is one of around 40 people arrested by police officers in Manhattan
New York City, New York: Officers pin a protester to the floor at the Black Lives matter protest Thursday
New York City, New York: NYPD officers wear masks at the protest in Manhattan
New York City, New York: NYPD officers were later seen brawling on the ground with protesters and at least 30 people were arrested in the Big Apple
Things turned ugly in the Big Apple as protesters and NYPD officers clashed in Manhattan, New York City.
More than 40 people were arrested when the demonstration in Union Square descended into violence.
The NYPD said several cops had been attacked by demonstrators, according to Newsweek.
One officer was reportedly hit with a garbage can that was hurled at them by a demonstrator while several protesters allegedly spat on the cops.
Police said one of the protestors was arrested for brandishing a knife while another tried to take a police officer’s gun from their holster.
‘We have over 40 people that are arrested right now in regards to this ongoing demonstration,’ an NYPD spokesperson told Newsweek.
New York City, New York: The NYPD said several cops had been attacked by demonstrators, according to Newsweek
New York City, New York: One officer was reportedly hit with a garbage can that was hurled at them by a demonstrator while several protesters allegedly spat on the cops
New York City, New York: A demonstrator is pinned to the floor by officers as things turned violent
New York City, New York: Police and a protester tackle each other in the streets of Manhattan
New York City, New York: People held aloft banners reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Stop Killing Black People’ while they followed the state’s coronavirus rules to wear face masks
New York City, New York: Cops said one of the protestors was arrested for brandishing a knife while another tried to take a police officer’s gun from their holster
New York City, New York: Protesters also accused police of violence towards them, with reports that one officer but his knee on a protester’s neck – the same restraint that ultimately led to Floyd’s death Monday
New York City, New York: A sign reads ‘No justice, no peace. All black lives matter’
‘We have multiple officers that have been attacked. We have one officer that was hit with a garbage can and we have another officer who was punched in his face.’
Protesters also accused police of violence towards them, with the Gothamist reporting allegations that one officer but his knee on a protester’s neck – the same restraint that ultimately led to Floyd’s death Monday.
Many demonstrators held aloft banners reading ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Stop Killing Black People’ while they followed the state’s coronavirus rules to wear face masks.
In Denver, what started as a peaceful march calling for justice over Floyd’s death descended into chaos as shots were fired.
Denver, Colorado: What started as a peaceful march calling for justice over Floyd’s death descended into chaos as shots were fired
Denver, Colorado: A motorist holds their fist out of the sunroof of their vehicle as cars were stopped by protesters
Denver, Colorado: Cops rushed to the scene of the protest at the state Capitol Thursday evening after witnesses reported six or seven shots had been fired at about 5:30 p.m. local time.
Denver, Colorado: Denver police said there were no reports of any injuries and no one had been taken into police custody
Denver, Colorado: Several hundred people had gathered at the state Capitol before marching down Lincoln Street and Broadway where they blocked traffic
Denver, Colorado: People carry placards as they march during a protest outside the State Capitol
Cops rushed to the scene of the protest at the state Capitol Thursday evening after witnesses reported six or seven shots had been fired at about 5:30 p.m. local time.
Terrified demonstrators were pictured huddled down on the ground fearing there was an active shooter at the event as armed officers ran past.
Denver police said there were no reports of any injuries and no one had been taken into police custody.
Several hundred people had gathered at the state Capitol before marching down Lincoln Street and Broadway where they blocked traffic.
As chaos ensued across America over the black man’s death in police custody, Floyd’s family issued a plea for protests to be peaceful Thursday night.
‘I don’t want them to lash out like that, but I can’t stop people right now because they have pain. They have the same pain that I feel,’ George Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, told CNN Thursday.
‘I want everything to be peaceful, but I can’t make everybody be peaceful. I can’t. It’s hard.’
The family’s lawyer Benjamin Crump issued a statement saying Floyd’s family ‘want peace’ and urged people not to ‘sink to the level of our oppressors’.
‘I spoke with George Floyd’s family this morning and they would like to thank all of the protesters for joining them in standing for JUSTICE. They know we’re all hurting,’ Crump said.
‘They told me they want peace in Minneapolis, but they know that Black people want peace in their souls and that until we get #JusticeForFloyd there will be no peace.’
‘We also cannot sink to the level of our oppressors and we cannot endanger each other as we respond to the necessary urge to raise our voices in unison and in outrage,’ he added. ‘Looting and violence distract from the strength of our collective voice.’
Their cries for calm came after Wednesday’s protest escalated into violence with riots breaking out across the city and one looter killed.
Cops and protesters clashed and stores including Target, AutoZone and Walmart were ransacked and set on fire by looters.
A suspected looter was shot dead outside the Cadillac Pawn shop and the suspected shooter had been taken into custody Wednesday night.
Prosecutors warn there is ‘evidence that does not support criminal charge’ in case of four cops accused of killing George Floyd as they say police can use a ‘certain amount of force – but not excessive’
Prosecutors have warned there is ‘evidence that does not support criminal charges’ in the case of four cops accused of killing George Floyd, as they say police can use a ‘certain amount of force – but not excessive’.
At a press conference Thursday, Mike Freeman, county attorney for Hennepin County, condemned the actions of white cop Derek Chauvin as ‘horrific and terrible’, but said prosecutors needed to determine if he used ‘excessive’ force when he knelt on the black man’s neck for eight minutes until he passed out and later died.
‘That video is graphic and horrific and terrible and no person should do that,’ he said.
‘But my job in the end is to prove he violated a criminal statute – but there is other evidence that does not support a criminal charge.’
Freeman pleaded for patience from the Minneapolis community ravaged by Floyd’s death as he warned that the investigation ‘can’t be rushed’ for fear of a repeat of the Freddie Gray case in 2015 where all charges were dropped against cops involved in the black man’s death.
Mike Freeman, county attorney for Hennepin County, and US Attorney for the District of Minnesota Erica MacDonald dashed hopes that an arrest had been made over the death of the 46-year-old father of two in a press conference Thursday
Police officers are allowed to use reasonable force on citizens to restrain them during arrest but the force cannot be ‘excessive’.
Prosecutors must now prove that this force was ‘excessive’ in order to bring criminal charges against Chauvin.
Outrage is building across the nation over how pinning Floyd down by his neck as he gasps for breathe and begs the cop to stop could ever be considered ‘reasonable’.
Freeman did not provide any detail over what the ‘other evidence’ could be that provides a defense for Chauvin’s actions but said his office now had to ‘wade through’ it before charges can be brought.
‘My business is ‘is it criminal?’ and that’s what we have to prove,’ he said.
Freeman said he understood that people want swift action but assured the public that ‘we just can’t rush this’.
He compared the case to the death of 25-year-old Gray in Baltimore in 2015, where Gray fell into a coma and died of a spinal cord injury while in a police van.
Officers guard the white cop’s home. Floyd’s death has sparked outrage in Minneapolis, with protesters taking to the streets for a third day Thursday
A protester clashes with police as protests mount across the city Thursday. State troopers have been forced to intervene after violent protests and riots broke out in the city and left one looter dead
Six Baltimore police officers were suspended with pay but all charges were dropped against them and no one was charged.
‘It was a rush to charge and a rush to justice and all those people were found not guilty,’ he said.
Freeman warned that history could repeat itself with the Floyd case if the investigation is rushed.
‘We have to do this right, we have to prove it in a court of law,’ he said.
‘We can’t rush justice as justice cant be rushed.’
His comments came as authorities dashed hopes that an arrest had been made over the death of the 46-year-old father of two when they called a press conference to announce a development in the investigation Thursday only to leave attendees waiting two hours before finally announcing they had no new developments to share.
‘We thought we would have another development to tell you about… but we don’t,’ admitted US Attorney for the District of Minnesota Erica MacDonald.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Thursday he believes George Floyd would still be alive today if he had been a white ma
She refused to confirm what the ‘development’ would have been but McDonald said ‘it mattered’ and ‘I hope to tell you soon’.
‘I wouldn’t have wasted your time coming here,’ she said.
MacDonald echoed Freeman’s words saying that a ‘police officer in the nature of the job has within their scope of duty the ability to use the right amount of force but not excessive force’.
‘That’s what we’re looking at – the issue of excessive force,’ she said.
She sought to reassure Floyd’s family that the investigation into his death is the ‘top priority’ and said that President Trump and US Attorney General Bill Barr are both ‘actively monitoring the investigation’.
The four Minneapolis officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd were fired Tuesday. They were named as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng.
Mayor Jacob Frey had announced the firings on Twitter, saying: ‘This is the right call.’
Frey said he considers Floyd’s killing to be murder and had publicly called for Chauvin to face arrest.
‘I’m not a prosecutor, but let me be clear. The arresting officer killed someone,’ he told CBS Thursday. ‘He’d be alive today if he were white.’
‘The facts that I’ve seen, which are minimal, certainly lead me down the path that race was involved.’