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PROTEST ROUNDUP: ‘We’re sick of it’: Anger over police killings shatters US

The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Americans began cleaning up charred and glass-strewn streets Sunday after another night of unrest fueled by rage over police mistreatment of African Americans destroyed businesses, damaged landmarks and raised tensions across a divided nation to the boiling point.

The chaos reached into every corner of the country, and the scars extended even to buildings near the White House. Some elected officials prepared to deploy additional National Guard troops in anticipation of more turmoil.

Tens of thousands of people marched peacefully to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died Monday after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing. But many demonstrations sank into violence as night fell: Cars and stores were torched. The words “I can’t breathe” were spray-painted all over buildings. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The scale of the protests, sweeping from coast to coast and unfolding on a single night, rivaled the historic demonstrations of the civil rights and Vietnam eras. And by Sunday morning, the fury had spread to Europe, where thousands gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square, clapping and waving placards despite government rules barring crowds because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re sick of it. The cops are out of control,” protester Olga Hall said in Washington, D.C. “They’re wild. There’s just been too many dead boys.”

People set fire to squad cars, threw bottles at officers and broke storefront windows. They carried away TVs and other merchandise even as some protesters urged them to stop. In Indianapolis, two people were reported dead after multiple shootings that happened during downtown violence. Those slayings added to deaths reported in Detroit and Minneapolis in recent days.

In Minneapolis, the city where the protests began, police, state troopers and National Guard members moved in soon after an 8 p.m. curfew took effect to break up the demonstrations. The show of force came after three days in which police largely avoided engaging protesters, and after the state poured more than 4,000 National Guard troops into Minneapolis. Authorities said that number would soon rise to nearly 11,000.

President Donald Trump appeared to cheer on the tougher tactics, commending the National Guard deployment in Minneapolis and declaring “No games!” He said police in New York City “must be allowed to do their job!”

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden condemned the violence as he continued to express common cause with those demonstrating after Floyd’s death.

“The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest,” Biden said in a late-night statement.

On Sunday, maintenance crews near the White House worked to replace windows that had been shattered with large pieces of wood. Buildings for blocks were marked with graffiti, including curses about Trump and anti-police sentiments. Shattered glass still covered the sidewalks. The damaged buildings included the Department of Veterans Affairs, directly across the street from the White House.

At the Minneapolis intersection where Floyd was killed, people gathered with brooms and flowers, saying it was important to protect what they called a “sacred space.” The intersection was blocked with the traffic cones while a ring of flowers was laid out.

County Commissioner Angela Conley showed up shortly after the curfew lifted, saying that police had trampled flowers and photos of Floyd. “The community needs healing, and what happened last night only exacerbated the pain that’s been felt,” she said of police action.

Conley said the demonstrations and confrontations with police would continue until the other three officers who were at the scene when Floyd was pinned down are arrested and prosecuted. The officer who put his knee on Floyd's neck, Derek Chauvin, was charged last week with murder. All four officers have been fired.

“We’ll continue to have this militarized presence in our community until justice is done,” Conley said.

Meanwhile, a church located at the intersection set up chairs for an outdoor service. Tracy Gordon, of the Worldwide Outreach for Christ, said it was important "to bring some hope to the community and let everyone know that God is in control.”

Few parts of America were untouched, from protesters setting fires inside Reno’s city hall, to police launching tear gas at rock-throwing demonstrators in Fargo, North Dakota. In Salt Lake City, demonstrators flipped a police car and lit it on fire. Police said six people were arrested and an officer was injured after being struck in the head with a baseball bat.

Overnight curfews were imposed in more than a dozen major cities nationwide, including Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle.

At least 13 police officers were injured in Philadelphia , and at least four police vehicles were set on fire. In New York City, dangerous confrontations flared repeatedly as officers made arrests and cleared streets. A video showed two NYPD cruisers lurching into a crowd of demonstrators who were pushing a barricade against one of them and pelting it with objects. Several people were knocked to the ground. It was unclear if anyone was hurt.

“The mistakes that are happening are not mistakes. They’re repeated violent terrorist offenses, and people need to stop killing black people,” Brooklyn protester Meryl Makielski said.

Some leaders prepared to put more soldiers in the streets by evening. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp authorized the deployment of up to 3,000 National Guard troops to Athens, Savannah and any other cities where more demonstrations were planned. Kemp had already approved up to 1,500 Guardsmen to help enforce a 9 p.m. Saturday curfew in Atlanta.

“The protesters need to know we’re going to support their efforts in a peaceful, nonviolent protest,” the Republican told television station WSB late Saturday. “The agitators need to know that we’ll be there ... to take them to jail if they’re destroying lives and property.”

In Virginia’s capital city, graffiti invoking Floyd or directing slurs at the police dotted downtown, including many of Richmond's some prominent Confederate monuments. At the headquarters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which news outlets reported was vandalized and set ablaze, a few men with long guns were among a small crowd gathered outside. One man said they were there to protect the building.

In Ferguson, Missouri, where Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed by a white police officer in 2014, sparking a wave of protests throughout the country, six officers were hurt after being hit with rocks and fireworks.

Police have arrested nearly 1,700 people in 22 cities since Thursday, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Nearly a third of those arrests came in Los Angeles, where the governor declared a state of emergency and ordered the National Guard to back up the city’s 10,000 police officers as dozens of fires burned across the city.

This week’s unrest recalled the riots in Los Angeles nearly 30 years ago after the acquittal of the white police officers who beat Rodney King, a black motorist who had led them on a high-speed chase. The protests of Floyd’s killing have gripped many more cities, but the losses have yet to approach the staggering totals Los Angeles saw during five days of rioting in 1992, when more than 60 people died, 2,000-plus were injured and thousands arrested, with property damage topping $1 billion.

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Associated Press journalists across the U.S. contributed to this report.

The Latest on the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck:

MINNEAPOLIS — People gathered Sunday morning with brooms and flowers at the intersection where George Floyd was killed.

After police dispersed the crowd on Saturday night with tear gas, many said it was important to come back and protect what they called a "sacred space." The intersection was blocked with the traffic cones while a ring of flowers was laid out.

Angela Conley, the county commissioner for district 4, showed up shortly after curfew was over to clean up, saying that police had trampled flowers and photos of Floyd.

"The community needs healing and what happened last night only exacerbated the pain that's been felt," she said of police action.

Conley felt the demonstrations and confrontations with police would continue until the other three officers on scene when Floyd was killed were arrested and prosecuted.

"We'll continue to have this militarized presence in our community until justice is done," she said.

Meanwhile, a church located at the intersection set up chairs for an outdoor service.

Tracy Gordon, who is part of the ministry team at the church called Worldwide Outreach for Christ, said, "I feel it is very important to bring some hope to the community and let everyone know that God is in control."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he's "standing behind the process at this point," when asked about calls to appoint him as a special prosecutor in the George Floyd case.

Floyd's family, as well as several Minneapolis City Council members, have called on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to hand the case to Ellison, who is black. The council members say they do not believe Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who is white, has the public trust necessary for the job. Freeman has charged now-fired officer Derek Chauvin with third-degree murder in Floyd's death. The council members say Freeman waited too long in bringing charges.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Ellison avoided criticizing Freeman and suggested additional charges and additional defendants may be added to the case.

"I don't want anyone to conclude that these are all the charges that are going to be there," he said, as he repeated calls for patience "if you want to make sure that this case results in a successful prosecution."

MADISON, Wis. — Hundreds of volunteers gathered early Sunday morning in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, to clean up damage from a night of violence that included setting a police squad car on fire, looting and breaking windows at dozens of stores and an art museum.

More than a thousand people gathered for a peaceful protest Saturday afternoon, but a smaller group of around 150 turned violent later, throwing rocks at police, who were in riot gear and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Police said Sunday that 75 stores were damaged or looted overnight and three people were arrested. One police officer was injured, but protective equipment prevented more serious injuries, acting Police Chief Victor Wahl said in a blog post.

One Madison police cruiser was broken into, driven a short distance, then set on fire, police said. Two rifles were stolen from the car, police said.

A Madison police armored rescue vehicle was hit by a bullet and multiple small fires were set and extinguished in the area.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway declared a state of emergency and imposed a 9:30 p.m. Sunday curfew in downtown Madison where the violence occurred.

LOS ANGELES — Armed National Guard soldiers patrolled the streets of Los Angeles early Sunday as the city began cleaning up after a night of violence that saw demonstrators clash repeatedly with officers, torch police vehicles and pillage businesses.

A rare citywide curfew expired as dawn revealed broken shop windows, demolished security gates and graffiti along entire blocks.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said Saturday he asked Gov. Gavin Newsom for 500 to 700 members of the Guard to assist the 10,000 Los Angeles Police Department officers.

Garcetti said the Guard members who arrived early Sunday were summoned "to support our local response to maintain peace and safety on the streets of our city."

LONDON — Thousands gathered in London's Trafalgar Square to express their outrage over George Floyd's death in Minnesota.

Demonstrators clapped and waved placards as they offered support to U.S. demonstrators.

The crowd gathered despite government rules barring crowds because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is expanding a state of emergency to authorize the deployment of up to 3,000 National Guard troops to protests in cities across the state.

Kemp said he was prepared to send Guard soldiers to Athens, Savannah and any other Georgia cities where demonstrations were planned Sunday.

"Hopefully we don't have to," the Republican governor told WSB-TV late Saturday.

Kemp had already approved up to 1,500 Guardsmen to help enforce a 9 p.m. Saturday curfew in Atlanta.

Atlanta police said in a statement late Saturday they had made more than 50 arrests as protesters threw rocks at officers and broke windows in the downtown area. The curfew was imposed after demonstrations Friday night turned violent with people setting fires and smashing windows at businesses and restaurants.

"The protesters need to know we're going to support their efforts in a peaceful, nonviolent protest," Kemp said. "The agitators need to know that we'll be there ... to take them to jail if they're destroying lives and property."

LA MESA, Calif. — The quaint downtown of suburban La Mesa near San Diego has suffered major damage with Chase and Union banks next door to each other burned to the ground.

Windows were smashed at many businesses, including a Goodwill store, a Sotheby's real estate office and a popular bar.

San Diego police officers, aided by other law enforcement agencies, walked shoulder to shoulder through the streets after 2 a.m. Sunday, telling hundreds of protesters and observers that they would be arrested for unlawful assembly if they didn't disperse.

The east San Diego suburb of 60,000 people borders El Cajon, where the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a police officer triggered days of major unrest in 2016.

The La Mesa protest that began peacefully Saturday afternoon and turned increasingly violent as night fell.

FERGUSON, Mo. — Mostly peaceful protests took a turn late Saturday in Ferguson, Missouri, where police said at least six officers were injured after they were hit with rocks and fireworks.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that police used tear gas to disperse a large group of protesters who had set off fireworks inside Ferguson police headquarters.

Gov. Mike Parson activated the Missouri National Guard late Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Ferguson Police Chief Jason Armstrong spoke to a group of about 500 peaceful protesters about how Michael Brown Jr.'s death was a "wake-up call to law enforcement." The 18-year-old Brown, who was black, was shot and killed by a white Ferguson police officer in 2014, sparking a wave of protests throughout the country.

RICHMOND, Va. — Photos on social media show several fires throughout downtown Richmond overnight as protests in the Virginia capital continued.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the headquarters of the nearby United Daughters of the Confederacy burned early Sunday and was marked with graffiti. Several Confederate statues along the city's Monument Avenue were defaced with graffiti.

The newspaper reports that an apartment building on a downtown street also caught fire, but protesters initially wouldn't let fire crews through until police cleared the area with tear gas.

Protesters targeted police headquarters for the second night in a row as officers formed a barricade around the building.

A dumpster was set afire near the police headquarters, which had its front windows broken out Friday night. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the police fired tear gas to move crowds away from the building.

Several blocks away near Virginia Commonwealth University hundreds of protesters blocked streets chanting "George Floyd," referring to the black man who died Monday after an arresting officer in Minneapolis pushed his knee into Floyd's neck while he was on the ground handcuffed.

Media reports showed video of protesters hurling what appeared to be water bottles at a police car, which moved through the crowd and sped away. A police cruiser was burned in the violence on Friday night, along with a city bus.

PHOENIX -- Protesters marched the streets of downtown Phoenix and Tucson Saturday after the cities' leaders implored them to refrain from violence.

The marches appeared to be largely peaceful, according to local media reports.

On Saturday night, however, Phoenix police had to defend the department's headquarters. Shortly after 10 p.m., Phoenix police said a large group of protesters downtown had become an unlawful assembly, the Arizona Republic reported.

The police said they needed to disperse immediately. The protesters were seen kneeling with their hands up in the streets outside Phoenix police and municipal buildings, the Republic reported.

They chanted, "Hands up, don't shoot" and "Black lives matter."

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has declared a citywide curfew for Sunday night as violent protests rage throughout the city in the aftermath of George Floyd's death.

Breed says the curfew will last from 8 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday.

The mayor says she has asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to put the California National Guard on standby.

Authorities say there have been increased levels of violence, crime, vandalism and assaults on police officers Saturday night as the protests took a dark turn.

Los Angeles is already under a citywide curfew overnight and the National Guard is en route to help police quell the violence.

PROTEST ROUNDUP: ‘We’re sick of it’: Anger over police killings shatters US

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