Large crowds of protesters gathered Tuesday at the Minneapolis site where a man died in police custody the night before.
A bystander’s video showed an officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, even after he pleaded that he could not breathe and stopped moving. Floyd, who was black, died hours later. Four officers involved in the arrest were fired Tuesday.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey apologized to the black community for the officer’s treatment of Floyd, 46. “Being Black in America should not be a death sentence,” Frey wrote on Facebook.
Floyd’s death prompted protests Tuesday, with thousands taking to the streets at the intersection where he died.
Many protesters marched more than 2 miles to the police precinct station in that part of the city, with some damaging the building’s windows and squad cars and spraying graffiti. Police in riot gear eventually confronted them with tear gas and projectiles, with tense skirmishes stretching late into the evening.
Some chanted and carried banners that read, “I can’t breathe” and “Jail killer KKKops.” And some stacked shopping carts to make a barricade at a Target store across the street from the station.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the department would conduct a full internal investigation, and prosecutors will decide whether to file criminal charges against the officers involved.
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