Minneapolis police officers were ordered to abandon their posts as protests demanding justice for George Floyd intensified on May 28. | Julio Cortez/AP
From Minneapolis to New York City.
“Please, please, I can’t breathe, officer,” a man pleads, his wrists handcuffed behind his back, his face ground into the pavement. The police officer continues to press his knee into the man’s neck. The man, 46-year-old George Floyd, died later that day. Floyd was black; the cop, white.
But demonstrations later turned tense and sometimes violent. Police fired tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and rubber bullets at demonstrators. Rioters vandalized and looted local businesses. People scaled the walls of a police precinct and set it aflame. (The station was evacuated before protesters entered and started the fire.)
AFP via Getty ImagesA protester holds up a “Justice for George” sign next to a burning car outside a Target store in Minneapolis on May 28.
In Louisville, Kentucky, protesters chanted “no justice, no peace” for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black healthcare worker who was fatally shot by police in her Louisville apartment in March. The peaceful protests in Louisville also escalated, and at least seven people were shot. Police said no officers discharged their weapons.
The rage over the deaths of Floyd, and Taylor may have ignited these uprisings, but the scenes below are a reminder that this is pent-up in a country where violence against black people keeps happening.
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota
Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty ImagesA man holds a photo of George Floyd. Protesters gathered at 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where George Floyd was killed.Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesProtesters march through downtown Minneapolis.Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesDemonstrators walked down a highway ramp on their march.Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesA group of protesters gathered outside the home of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, who is leading the investigation of George Floyd’s death.Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesThe gathering brought a large crowd.John Minchillo/APA police officer prepares to throw a tear gas canister towards protesters in St. Paul.Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesPolice aim their weapons at protesters in the parking lot of a Target store in St. Paul.John Minchillo/APA protestor douses her face with milk after being exposed to tear gas fired by police in St. Paul.John Minchillo/APA demonstrator displays a “Black Lives Matter” sign in St. Paul.Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty ImagesFlames rise from a laundry service near the Third Police Precinct.Steel Brooks/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesProtesters stand and chant on top of a broken fence while the Third Precinct burns.Jordan Strowder/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesA burning liquor store.Getty ImagesA sign in Minneapolis.Mark Vancleave/Star Tribune via Getty ImagesProtesters lobbed fireworks, rocks, and glass bottles at police near the Third Precinct.John Minchillo/APPolice officers walk through a cloud of tear gas in St. Paul.Scott Olson/Getty ImagesPolice officers block a road on May 29, the fourth day of protests in Minneapolis.Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via Getty ImagesA 190-unit Minneapolis apartment building under construction, tentatively known as Midtown Corner (right), was burned to the ground.
Protestors kneeling together on Jefferson Street near the 6th street intersection. Tons of cars following the crowd now too with some parked and just sitting on their cars. pic.twitter.com/yPgrPwLeiU
Matthew Hatcher/Getty ImagesProtesters demonstrated in downtown Columbus in solidarity with nationwide uprisings after the death of George Floyd.Matthew Hatcher/Getty ImagesA peaceful demonstration near the Ohio Statehouse became a clash between police and protesters.Matthew Hatcher/Getty ImagesProtesters in Columbus chanted “black lives matter” and “say his name,” in reference to Floyd.Matthew Hatcher/Getty ImagesA demonstrator pours milk over their face to counteract the effects of tear gas.
New York City
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty ImagesNew Yorkers joined in protests on May 28 of the killing of George Floyd.John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesProtesters face the police.John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesPolice arrest a demonstrator.John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesPolice and protesters clash.John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesA police officer arrests a protester.
Denver, Colorado
Hyoung Chang/The Denver PostA demonstrator holds a sign during a protest at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty ImagesSigns at a rally.Hyoung Chang/The Denver PostProtesters face off with Denver police.Hyoung Chang/The Denver PostProtesters hold their hands up, face to face with police.Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty ImagesA protester lies in the street after Denver police officers fired pepper balls at demonstrators outside the Colorado State Capitol.
Los Angeles, California
Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesPeople take to the streets during a Black Lives Matter protest over the death of George Floyd in downtown Los Angeles.Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesDemonstrators sitting in the street downtown.Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesLAPD officers line up as protesters react to the death of George Floyd.Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesA demonstrator holds a United States flag as someone lights it on fire during a protest in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 27.
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