By
HuffPost
Protests erupted across the U.S. on Thursday following days of increasingly tense demonstrations in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck.
Floyd died on Monday after a police officer pinned him to the ground for several minutes while he repeatedly pleaded, “I can’t breathe.”
The shocking incident, which was captured on video, has prompted a nationwide outcry.
The four officers involved were fired, but Floyd’s family, community leaders and protesters are calling for their arrest and an end to police violence.
Demonstrations rocked Minneapolis on Tuesday, Wednesday and into Thursday night, leading to looting and violent clashes with police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
One person was fatally shot.
Floyd’s brother, Philonese Floyd, stressed on CNN on Thursday morning that protests should be peaceful, but he said people were acting out because they are “torn and hurt because they’re tired of seeing Black men die. Constantly, over and over again.”
“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,” he said. He called for the four officers to be “arrested, convicted of murder and given the death penalty.”
Videos on social media show a number of protests in cities across the U.S. growing increasingly strained as attendees called for justice for Floyd.
In Minnesota, for the third consecutive night, groups rallied in St. Paul and in neighboring Minneapolis, scattered across the city on street corners, at the intersection where Floyd died and outside the Minneapolis 3rd Precinct police station, where the officers were believed to have worked. Reports indicated the precinct was breached by protesters Thursday night and nearby buildings were set alight.
The Minneapolis Police Department released a statement that the precinct had been evacuated.
Earlier Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard as the city braced for the night’s protests.