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Rioters Set Fire To Police Precinct During Demonstration Over George Floyd's Death

Rioters Set Fire To Police Precinct During Demonstration Over George Floyd's Death

Tensions have reached breaking point.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Rioters have set fire to a police precinct in Minneapolis after protests over George Floyd's death escalated.

Demonstrations have erupted in the city over the past two days after the African American man died while being pinned to the ground by a white police officer who knelt on his neck. Floyd said 'Please, please, please, I can't breathe. Please, man' during the arrest before he died.

There have been reports of looting and one person being shot dead.

But tensions have reached breaking point and rioters have decided to set a police department building in the city's 3rd Precinct on fire.

The National Guard has been called in to quell the rioting and roughly 500 officers are on their way to the scene.

The lawyer for Mr Floyd's family, Ben Crump, condemned the violence that has erupted as a result of the tragic death.

"We don't need that. We need people focused on getting justice," he said.

The protests that erupted in Minneapolis have been mirrored in other US cities such as Los Angeles, Denver and Memphis.

PA

All four police officers involved in the arrest have been fired by the Minneapolis Police Department, with calls from the public for them to face criminal charges.

George's brother has spoken out about the tragedy and wants the death penalty for those involved.

Speaking to CNN, Philonise said: "These officers, they need to be arrested right now. They need to be arrested and held accountable about everything because these people want justice right now. These guys need to be arrested, convicted of murder, and given the death penalty.

"People are torn and hurt because they're tired of seeing black men die constantly, over and over again. They took my brother's life. He will never get that back. I will never see him again. My family will never see him again."

A still from a video showing George Floyd on the ground before he lost consciousness.
ABC

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey admitted it was the 'right call' to fire the four police officers and expressed how devastating Mr Floyd's death was.

"Being black in America should not be a death sentence," Mr Frey wrote on Facebook.

"For five minutes, we watched a white officer press his knee into a black man's neck. Five minutes. When you hear someone calling for help, you're supposed to help. This officer failed in the most basic, human sense."

US President Donald Trump has weighed into the issue, telling reporters at a press conference: "I feel very, very badly. That's a very shocking sight. That was a very, very bad thing that I saw. I saw it last night and I didn't like it...what I saw was not good. Very bad."

However, since the violence erupted, Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: "I can't stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.

"These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won't let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, US News