Aerial photos show devastation caused by looters protesting George Floyd's killing as Eric Garner's mom unites with Rev Sharpton in Minneapolis and demands cops who 'murdered' him are arrested now(60 Pics)
Shocking aerial photos show the widespread destruction left in Minneapolis in the wake of protests over George Floyd's killing.
Chaos first erupted Tuesday after footage showed white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on father-of-two Floyd's neck for eight minutes. By Wednesday stores, including Wendy's, Target, Walmart and AutoZone had been looted, ransacked and some set alight before rioters tried to bust open an ATM.
As Minneapolis braced for a third night of violence Thursday Eric Garner's mother arrived in the city. She said the death of Floyd is like opening up 'an old wound' after the footage drew comparisons to her son’s arrest in New York in 2014.
Gwen Carr, whose 44-year-old son died after he was placed in an apparent chokehold by a NYPD officer, was joined by Rev Al Sharpton in Minneapolis days after video showed Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck.
Civil rights activist Rev Sharpton demanded the cops who 'murdered' him are arrested, telling the crowd: 'You do not need anything more than you have now to arrest those four policemen.' Carr added: 'The police officers come into our neighborhoods, they brutalize, they terrorize, they murder our children and we have done nothing.'
Carr told protesters: 'This will not be an easy fight, its gonna be a lonely road. We will not forget this man, we will not forget my son.'
Discussing the protests, Rev Sharpton added: 'If they had prosecuted the Garner officer maybe Floyd would be alive today. We are going to make sure this prosecution goes down so we are not somewhere five years from now saying they should prosecuted in the Floyd case.
'You do not need anything more than you have now to arrest those four policemen. We want justice.'
In July last year federal prosecutors said they would not bring criminal charges against the white New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the 2014 chokehold death of Garner.
In the case of Floyd, the four officers at his arrest have been fired but there have so far been no arrests.
Aerial shots taken Thursday show a trail of destruction in the wake of protests Wednesday evening
The fire department said Thursday they were called out to around 30 fires along Lake Street the previous evening, with rocks thrown damaging their equipment. At least 16 fires involved damage to buildings, they said
An aerial photo made with a drone shows firefighters battling fires set near the Minneapolis police 3rd Precinct, during a third day of protests over the arrest of George Floyd
People walk past a completely destroyed Wendy's Restaurant after a night of rioting and vandalism which followed a second day of protests over the arrest of George Floyd
Firefighters continue to put out smouldering businesses Thursday after a night of rioting and vandalism
Chaos first erupted Tuesday after footage showed a white police officer knelt on the father-of-two's neck for eight minutes. By Wednesday stores including Wendy's, Target, Walmart and AutoZone had been looted, ransacked and some set alight before rioters tried to bust open an ATM
Workers board up an Aldi Grocery store as Minneapolis braces for a third night of protests on Thursday
Protesters face off with police outside the Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct Thursday
Gwen Carr, right, whose 44-year-old son died after he was placed in an apparent chokehold by a NYPD officer, was joined by Rev Al Sharpton, left, in Minneapolis days after video showed a white police officer knelt on Floyd's neck
State troopers have already been called in and Mayor Jacob Frey asked for the National Guard's help after one suspected looter was fatally shot and stores were left ransacked and torched.
Mayor Frey on Thursday asked Governor Tim Walz for the Minnesota National Guard's assistance ahead of more expected protests this evening. FOX 9 reports up to 60 state troopers are already on the ground.
The mayor tweeted: 'Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy. The area along Lake has become unsafe. We are asking for your help in keeping the peace tonight.'
The fire department said Thursday they were called out to around 30 fires along Lake Street the previous evening, with rocks thrown damaging their equipment. At least 16 fires involved damage to buildings, they said.
No one was injured as a result but crews remain working on the scene.
People stand on a burned up car as fires burn near a Target Store Thursday morning after a night of unrest and protests
Minneapolis firefighters work to put out a fire Thursday morning. Floyd died after being restrained by police officers Monday
Smoke fills the sky after a night of unrest and protests in the death of George Floyd early Thursday
A man runs near a burning building after a night of unrest and protests in the death of George Floyd
State cops wielded batons and wore body armor and helmets as they lined up against the rioters
The suspected looter who was shot dead was killed outside the Cadillac Pawn & Jewelry store. Looters broke into stores including Target, Autozone, Wendy's and Minnehaha Lake Wine and Spirits. The Minneapolis Police building was damaged
A suspected looter was shot dead outside a pawn shop; Minneapolis Department Police Chief John Elder confirmed the death in a midnight press conference.
Elder said officers had responded to reports of a possible stabbing at around 9.25pm between Bloomington and Lake Street. The body of a man - who medics later confirmed had been shot - was found lying on the sidewalk outside the Cadillac Pawn shop by police officers who performed CPR on him.
Videos also showed what was reported to be an apartment building entirely engulfed by flames as rioters stood and watched and the fire department was nowhere to be seen. An AutoZone store was also one of those which was set on fire.
Outside a GM Tobacco store, a group of four men with huge firearms were seen and said they had come to protect local businesses from looters.
Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins called 'racism is a public health issue' during a press conference Thursday. Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he 'cannot allow criminal acts to occur and compound the trauma that already exists'.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said he 'cannot allow criminal acts to occur and compound the trauma that already exists'
Mayor Jacob Frey on Thursday asked Governor Tim Walz for the Minnesota National Guard's assistance ahead of more expected protests this evening: there are up to 60 state troopers already on the ground
Shocking images Thursday show the widespread destruction left in the wake of the protests Wednesday
'Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy', Mayor Frey tweeted Wednesday evening
News of the shooting death topped off a night of chaos across the city as looters ransacked and set fire to stores
The chaos erupted on day two of protests over the death of George Floyd who died on Monday
During the riots, a woman in a wheelchair was punched in the head and sprayed with a fire extinguisher after trying to block protesters - allegedly with a knife in her hand.
Floyd's family's lawyer Ben Crump had issued a statement Thursday morning urging protesters to act peacefully and to not 'sink to the level of our oppressors'.
He said: 'I spoke with George Floyd’s family this morning and they would like to thank all of the protesters for joining them in standing for JUSTICE. They know we’re all hurting. They know that any decent human being who watches the video of the police killing their Gentle Giant by having his knee on his neck while he was handcuffed facedown will also feel a shortness of breath like George.
'They told me they want peace in Minneapolis, but they know that Black people want peace in their souls and that until we get #JusticeForFloyd there will be no peace. We also cannot sink to the level of our oppressors and we cannot endanger each other as we respond to the necessary urge to raise our voices in unison and in outrage.
'Looting and violence distract from the strength of our collective voice. To assuage this death and begin the community’s healing, city and police leaders need to look at the culture they’ve created and ask the hard questions.'
Onlookers watch as smoke smolders from a destroyed restaurant near the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct, Thursday
A man carries items past a burned out Auto Zone store near the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct Thursday
Protests continue over the death of George Floyd, who was seen on video gasping for breath during his arrest
Police officers in riot gears guard the Minneapolis Police Third Precinctt, Thursday after a night of rioting
Looters continue to remove good from destroyhed and burned out stores on Thursday morning
Firefighters continue to put out smouldering businesses Thursday after a night of rioting and vandalism
Wendy's, Target, Walmart and AutoZone were all looted and ransacked and rioters tried to bust open an ATM. Picture: AutoZone was also set on fire.
Elder said that 'everything was done that we could do to try to preserve this man's life' but the adult male died in hospital.
The police chief refused to confirm reports that the shooter was the owner of the pawn shop who shot the victim dead because he was looting his store.
He said this was 'one theory' but that police are investigating 'a couple of different scenarios that might have happened'.
Elder would not divulge what the other scenarios are. He added that there had been no other reports of injuries among protesters or police officers.
The police chief also slammed the actions of looters and rioters which he branded 'disrespectful' to Floyd's family and to all the protesters who gathered peacefully to demand justice over his death.
'If people are there to truly honor the man and his family this isn't how you do it and it's so disrespectful and it's heartbreaking,' he said.
'People are utilizing this as a purpose just to make bad decisions.'
News of the shooting death topped off a night of chaos and destruction across the city as rioters stripped shelves bare, set fire to stores and tried to break into a bank.
Footage on social media showed car parts company AutoZone up in flames as people were seen hurling rocks through its windows.
Another structure, said to be a new apartment building, was filmed as flames entirely engulfed it and made it collapse.
With the fire department initially nowhere to be seen, reports on social media said they were being forced to stay away because of the violent rioters.
Stores and building near the fire were being splashed with water by citizens in an effort to stop the flames spreading. They were pictured filling buckets from fire hydrants.
Fire fighters were then seen spraying buildings including the Schooner tavern which had also caught fire.
At the Target store near the site of Floyd's arrest, the inside of the store lay in ruins, with stock depleted of all goods and the remaining merchandise flung across the floor.
Witnesses reported thieves using power tools to break open cash registers and trying to access the store's safes, before it too was set alight and seen engulfed in flames.
Rioters then turned to a Wendy's where they sprayed graffiti on the walls before moving onto a bank - trying to bust it open and raid the ATMs.
A woman in a wheelchair was also punched in the head and sprayed with a fire extinguisher after trying to block protesters - allegedly with a knife in her hand.
The woman claimed she was 'peacefully protesting' to stop people from looting a Target store, but she was quickly set upon by a crowd who subdued her.
The crowd outside the Target store shouted that the woman had a knife, and footage showed her holding what appeared to be a sharp object.
Named online as Jennifer, she later said she had been 'punched in the head several times' before others tried to restrain her.
Footage of the violent clash has been widely shared on social media, including by conservative writer Andy Ngo.
A group of four men with huge firearms were seen outside a GM Tobacco store as they said they had come to protect local businesses from looters, reported Minnesota Reformer.
The vigilantes called themselves 'heavily armed rednecks' as they stood guard outside the businesses.
Disorder erupted in the streets of the city on the second day of the rally over Floyd's death, after footage emerged Tuesday showing white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the black man's neck moments before he died in police custody.
Floyd is heard pleading with Chauvin, saying 'please, please, I can't breathe' and 'My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts' while witnesses urged the arresting officers to stop.
Cops were seen spraying pepper spray into the crowds and outraged Minnesotans threw metal railings at the windows of the police precinct as the two groups clashed on Wednesday.
This followed chaotic scenes at Tuesday night's protest where demonstrators were seen dousing their faces in milk to limit the effects of the tear gas and desperately fleeing the hail of rubber bullets raining down on them.
Floyd was filmed Monday begging the Minneapolis cop to stop and telling him he could not breathe before he lost consciousness and later died
The morning after George Floyd protests erupted in violence and fires in Minneapolis, protesters began assembling at the residence of Derek Chauvin, the fired officer at the center of the Floyd death
Other demonstrators carried signs reading 'I can't breathe' - some of the last words Floyd said as he begged the police officer for his life. Some held signs reading 'Black Lives Matter' as they marched on the property
Protesters gathered outside the home of police officer Derek Chauvin Wednesday, calling him a 'Murderer'
Minnesota Governor Walz issued a plea Wednesday for people to practice social distancing and protest peacefully while calling on cops to exercise restraint at the rally.
A new incident report was also released Wednesday revealing medics arrived at the scene of Floyd's arrest to find the black man already 'unresponsive' and 'pulseless'.
Wednesday's protest started peacefully but clashes soon emerged between the demonstrators and police officers before the city erupted with violence.
One woman was seen being blasted in the face with pepper spray as she held up a banner with a slogan saying 'Charge killer cops'.
People launched missiles including rocks and bottles at the building where the four officers connected to Floyd's death worked.
Some protesters also threw debris at a car with pro-Trump and pro-police messaging on it as it drove through the area.
Police officers and protesters started gathering throughout Wednesday outside the Minneapolis police third precinct close to the scene of Floyd's arrest.
Flowers and photos were laid outside the Cups Food deli where the incident unfolded Monday to pay homage to the man who family members said was 'everyone's favorite person'.
Many protesters were pictured wearing face masks to protect against the spread of COVID-19 as Governor Walz urged people to practice social distancing.
Police officers wore riot gear and held bats as they tried to create a human barrier between demonstrators and the precinct.
Some cops were seen stationed on the roof of the building looking down on the crowds gathering below.
Authorities claimed Tuesday that Floyd had resisted arrest by cops, however footage from the scene has cast doubt on the version of events as it appears to show the 46-year-old father of two cooperating with officers as he is manhandled out of his vehicle and placed in handcuffs outside the Cup Foods grocery store on 38th and Chicago Ave in south Minneapolis.
The release of the MFD report sheds yet more light on Monday's shocking events, detailing that fire crew were called to assist medics with a man - called 'pt' in the report - who had trauma to his mouth.
It states that Fire Station 17 of Minneapolis arrived at the scene outside the Cup Foods store to find 'multiple squads on scene and small crowd of citizens'.
The report points to confusion at the scene as neither the cops nor bystanders gave information to medics on Floyd or his location.
It says that while the crew tried to find Floyd to give medical support, they overheard and were told by 'several people that the police "had killed the man"'.
The report adds that the bystanders were 'upset but not unruly'.
Crew members were finally able to find a cop inside the store who told them medics had put Floyd in an ambulance and left the scene.
Crew members were also told by an off-duty firefighter who witnessed the end of the struggle that they had seen Floyd become unresponsive on the ground while handcuffed and subdued by cops, the report says.
Medics then called for assistance and the crew responded to the ambulance which had moved to 36th and Park Avenue.
Two crew members got into the ambulance where they found 'an unresponsive, pulseless male', the report states.
According to the report, medics never managed to recover a pulse on route to the hospital and Floyd's 'condition did not change'.
Governor Walz broke protocol in his daily coronavirus briefing Wednesday to talk about the 'tragic events' in Minneapolis Monday and to send his 'deepest sympathies' to Floyd's family.
'Like so many Minnesotans and so many people across the country and world I was shocked and horrified by the video of George Floyd's death,' the governor said.
'It's very clear to anyone that what happened to George Floyd is wrong,' Walz said.
'The lack of humanity in the video as I said made me physically ill and is even more difficult to understand.'
An autopsy has not yet been completed, officials said.
Walz thanked protesters for their peaceful rally Tuesday night - before making a thinly-veiled dig at law enforcement that some protesters ended up 'in harm's way' at the rally.
'When I was with you Saturday I closed by wishing everyone a peaceful Memorial Day,' Walz said.
'Unfortunately Memorial Day evening in Minneapolis was anything but peaceful - and neither was last night.'
Walz said he 'respect[s] the right to peacefully protest'.
'It's how people express their pain, process tragedy and work to create change,' he said.
'But I was saddened to see some of the protesters were in harm's way last night.'
Walz also urged protesters to wear face masks and practice social distancing at Wednesday's rally.
'I just want to encourage everyone to be safe in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and I want to thank protesters for their commitment to safely protest in the pandemic,' he said.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said the state will 'get answers' but also urged protesters to stay safe at the protests.
'George Floyd should be alive today,' she said. 'The grief in this moment is unbearable.'
Flanagan warned that the same communities most affected by Floyd's death are those also worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic - as black communities have been disproportionately hard-hit by the outbreak.
'Last night we saw those choose to protest their grief and anger wearing masks and distancing themselves,' she said, adding that she wanted to 'thank' those protesters.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, also speaking at the press conference, said an investigation into Floyd's death is now underway.
Mayor Jacob Frey has called for the white officer who knelt on Floyd's neck to be criminally charged on Wednesday. Derek Chauvin (pictured) was seen pinning him down in video footage that was widely shared on Tuesday
CCTV footage from a nearby restaurant shows part of the altercation between Floyd and the officers on the scene. A handcuffed Floyd sits on the ground as a police officer, who was not seen in the original viral video, speaks to him before picking him up and holding him against the wall
Video footage shows the moment George Floyd was pulled from his car by officers during his arrest, moments before he lost consciousness after a white officer knelt on his neck for several minutes
The four fired police officers involved in Monday's incident have been identified as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng
A photo taken across the street from the scene show three officers arresting Floyd as he lay on the ground. The FBI and state law enforcement authorities have launched an investigation into the man's death
Ellison said the incident reminds him of historic cases of police conflict with the African-American community, such as the death of Rodney King back in 1991.
'This is not an isolated case,' he said. 'We're dealing with a systemic problem.'
'This tragic event that took the life of George Floyd is a point in time and an incident involving a person,' Ellison said.
'The reason there is so much outrage is that this is a part of a larger pattern.'
John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, echoed sentiments from the victim's family's lawyer Ben Crump that there are worrying similarities in the case with the death of unarmed black man Eric Garner.
Garner died in 2014 after he was placed in a chokehold by New York City police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe.
'It reminds me so much of the Eric Garner case in New York but I promise you that unlike the Eric Garner case we will not wait years for action,' he said.
'You will not have to wait - there will not be a lag.'
City officials on Wednesday formally identified the four fired police officers involved in Monday's incident as Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng.
The cops, who were initially placed on paid administrative leave, were terminated from the Minneapolis Police Department on Tuesday after footage of Floyd's arrest was widely shared on social media.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on prosecutors Wednesday to arrest and charge Chauvin for his role in the incident.
'If most people, particularly people of color, had done what a police officer did late Monday, they'd already be behind bars,' Frey said in a tweet on Wednesday.
'That's why today I'm calling on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to charge the arresting officer in this case.'
Aerial photos show devastation caused by looters protesting George Floyd's killing as Eric Garner's mom unites with Rev Sharpton in Minneapolis and demands cops who 'murdered' him are arrested now(60 Pics)
![Aerial photos show devastation caused by looters protesting George Floyd's killing as Eric Garner's mom unites with Rev Sharpton in Minneapolis and demands cops who 'murdered' him are arrested now(60 Pics)]()
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