'These cops love you!' Touching footage shows police officers across the US stand in solidarity with George Floyd protesters by hugging them and taking the knee (17 Pics)
Police officers across the US have stood in solidarity with Black Lives Matter demonstrators as they protest the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd.
White police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds last week, despite Floyd's desperate repeated pleas for help. Floyd passed out and later died.
His death is seen as a symbol of systemic police brutality against African-Americans sparking outrage and protests country-wide.
A Louisville officer - wearing a protective helmet and clutching a baton - was filmed hugging a demonstrator in a touching act of solidarity
In Benecia, California, officers were seen kneeling to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement
But a series of touching videos show police officers up and down the nation joining protesters by kneeling or marching alongside them. Some cops were even seen embracing weary activists.
The gestures of solidarity spread nation-wide after footage of Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson took off his helmet and laid down his baton to walk with demonstrators in Flint, Michigan.
The clip swiftly went viral and other police departments appear to have followed suit.
In New York City, a video shared to Twitter shows an NYPD officer kneeling with protesters as the crowd erupts into cheers.
The officer raises his fist to the sky before standing up to hug a demonstrator.
In New York, a police officer hugs a protester after they knelt together in Queens
In New York City, a video shared to Twitter shows an NYPD officer kneeling with protesters as the crowd erupts into cheers. The officer raises his fist to the sky before standing up to hug a demonstrator
Another clip from the Big Apple shows an NYPD officer kneeling to hug a protester as a mass of activists applauded around them.
In Benecia, California, officers were seen kneeling to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
In the video taken in Flint, Sheriff Swanson can be heard telling protesters: 'I took the helmet off, laid the batons down.
'I want to make this a parade. Not a protest. You've got little ones here, you've got dogs so listen, I'm just telling you. These cops love you.
'That cop over there hugs people. So you tell us what you need to do.'
A protester in the crowd can then be heard yelling 'walk with us' as other join in her chant.
Sheriff Swanson triumphantly shouts 'lets walk' as the group cheers.
Another clip from the Big Apple shows an NYPD officer kneeling to hug a protester as a mass of activists applauded around them
One demonstrator can be seen putting his arm around the cop as they head off.
A Louisville officer - wearing a protective helmet and clutching a baton - was filmed hugging a demonstrator in a touching act of solidarity.
The video in Louisville emerged after a protester was last night shot dead by law enforcement officers on the fourth night of unrest in the city.
It is not clear if the man was shot by National Guard - who were brought in on Saturday to quell the unrest - or by a police officer.
The man, understood to be the owner of a local barbecue restaurant, was killed shortly after midnight when a large crowd gathered in a parking lot after the 'dusk to dawn' 9pm curfew began.
After the crowd start chanting 'walk with us', Sheriff Swanson triumphantly shouts 'lets walk' as the group cheers. One demonstrator can be seen putting his arm around the cop as they head off (right)
Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad called the man a 'protester', however witnesses said they were not part of the demonstrations.
The positive footage of police officers joining in with protesters will come as a relief to many concerned about the varying levels of violence seen in protests across the last few days.
Tens of thousands of people gathered as the National Guard was deployed to over half the states in the country on Sunday for protests that have seen 4,100 people get arrested this weekend alone.
Chaos continued to unfold in cities across America late Sunday night including Washington DC, just steps from the White House, where police and Secret Service deployed tear gas as they faced off with protesters during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd
A protester has been shot dead by law enforcement officers in Louisville on the fourth night of unrest following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd. Pictured: Police at the scene last night
Police and Secret Service pictured standing guard in front of the White House as protesters edge closer on Sunday
Demonstrators pictured flipping a car over and smashing its class windows during a protest near the White House on Sunday
A protester raises their first near a fire outside the White House as protests engulfed the country for another night
But even the threat of heavy officer presence didn't deter protesters in Philadelphia from hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at police, crowds to raid stores including Coach and Chanel in New York and San Francisco, and fires being ignited mere feet from the White House.
Late Sunday in Washington D.C. a fire was set ablaze in the historic St. John's Episcopal Church and Lafayette Park in front of the White House.
The demonstrations have marked unparalleled civil unrest in the US that hasn't been seen since the 1968 assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
At least 40 cities have imposed curfews in light of the riots and violence and National Guard members have been activated in 26 states and Washington, DC.
Washington state governor Jay Inslee was among those to send for the National Guard after vandalism and looting in multiple cities, calling the riots 'illegal and dangerous' but adding they should not 'detract from the anger so many feel at the deep injustice laid so ugly and bare by the death of George Floyd'.
In total at least five people have been killed in protest violence after gunfire rang out in Detroit and Indianapolis and in Omaha a 22-year-old black protester was killed in a struggle with a local business owner.
Two Atlanta police officers were fired Sunday after video emerged showing them using excessive force during protests this weekend, including tasing and dragging two college students from a car.
'These cops love you!' Touching footage shows police officers across the US stand in solidarity with George Floyd protesters by hugging them and taking the knee (17 Pics)
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June 01, 2020
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