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Riots over George Floyd's death
(CNN) - Two days after the death of an unarmed black man at the hands of a police officer, protesters marched on the streets of at least three major cities in the United States.
In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed on Monday, the second night of protests was marked by looting and building fires as crowds of protesters clashed with police, who fired tear gas, according to CNN team observations at the scene. and the Police.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who warned a "extremely dangerous situation" at the protest Wednesday night, urged protesters to remain peaceful, a plea echoed by members of Floyd's family.
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Police said early Thursday morning that a man was shot dead near the scene of the protests. One person was arrested. Police reported that they are investigating the nature of the incident.
In Los Angeles, hundreds of people marched to protest Floyd's death and police brutality. At one point, some protesters attacked a California Highway Patrol car.
"Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our country. Violence is not justified and removes the message. I urge all of you to peacefully protest for the good of everyone's public safety, ”Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a statement.
In Memphis, Tennessee, police responded to a riot gear protest and at least two people were arrested, CNN affiliate WHBQ reported.
The riots followed the commotion and anger that invaded communities across the country when the video of Floyd's last moments began to circulate on social media. The 46-year-old man was handcuffed and on the ground when he claimed he couldn't breathe while a police officer put him down with a knee to his neck. Three others were also at the scene.
- George Floyd's family says four police officers involved in his death should be charged with murder
Who are the four agents
All four officers involved in the man's death were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department. But Floyd's family says they want all four to be charged with murder. The Minneapolis mayor also filed charges against the agent who kept his knee on Floyd's neck while the man begged for help.
“For five minutes straight, a white officer in our Police Department pressed his knee to the neck of a black man who was handcuffed, who was not a threat, and who was articulating very clearly how he was impacted, how his physical health was damaged, and how could I not breathe, ”Mayor Jacob Frey told CNN on Wednesday night.
At an earlier press conference, Frey called for criminal charges to be brought against that agent who was identified by his attorney Tom Kelly as Derek Chauvin. Kelly has not released a statement on behalf of Chauvin.
"For the past 36 or 48 hours I have been asking myself this question, 'Why isn't the agent who killed George Floyd in jail right now?' And I can't answer that question, "Frey said Wednesday night.
The other three officers were identified by the Police as Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng.
Thomas Plunkett, representing Kueng, said: "Right now, out of respect for Mr. Floyd, we are rejecting all invitations to discuss these painful events."
Earl Gray represents another of the agents involved but has declined to say who his client is. CNN has not determined who the fourth agent's attorney is.
Police told the witness that Floyd resisted arrest.
Donald Williams, a witness to the incident, told CNN he was about to enter a store when he noticed a commotion. He said he saw Floyd "gasping for his life, begging for forgiveness."
Williams said Floyd said he couldn't breathe and his stomach and nose hurt.
The description of Williams' events coincides with a video captured by a viewer in which Floyd can be heard screaming for help, saying "I can't breathe" and that his body was in pain.
At one point Floyd says, “Give me some water or something. Please. Please".
Williams said she tried to approach an agent and ask what was going on because she noticed Floyd's nose was bleeding and that his "eyes were just changing color."
But officers did not provide an explanation for why a police officer's knee remained on Floyd's neck and instead told Williams that Floyd "resisted arrest."
Family members ask for justice for George Floyd 2:41"I said 'officer, he doesn't resist arrest, he has his knee on him and he has handcuffs, he's in custody right now,'" he said. An agent responded by saying, "This is what drugs do to you," according to Williams.
Floyd was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital soon after. A team of doctors who responded to the incident worked on a "man with no response and no pulse," according to a Minneapolis Fire Department narrative released by Police.
"(Unit) 17 encountered an off-duty firefighter, who had witnessed the end of the fight and had seen the patient go from fighting to not responding on the ground while handcuffed and subdued by (Police officers)," the narrative said.
- Young black man ran out with a $ 2 beer. The store clerk followed him and shot him dead
Police have not released body camera images
The Minneapolis Police have not yet released body camera images of the officers involved.
But more pieces from the moments leading up to the man's death are being put together, one that comes from surveillance footage from a nearby store, which captures Floyd's initial encounter with police.
According to the images, Floyd is taken out of a car, handcuffed and escorted by agents to a sidewalk, and then is not seen in the image. He doesn't seem to resist arrest.
Images from an officer's body camera were released by the Minneapolis Park Police - a separate entity from the Minneapolis Police - which are heavily edited.
The only people visible are police officers. The Minneapolis Park Police officer responded to the incident and assisted the Minneapolis Police Department, but the agent was not looking in the direction where the Floyd incident occurred.
In a statement, the Minneapolis Park Police said the officer was about 35 meters away from where Floyd was immobilized and was in no condition to intervene.
- CNN's Sarah Moon, Kara Devlin, Sara Sidner, Melissa Alonso, Omar Jiménez, Pierre Meilhan and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
Black Lives MatterPolice Brutality
