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US Protests, Clashes with Police, Erupt in Dozens of Cities

VOA News

   Fires, looting and chaos erupted in dozens of American cities Saturday
   night as demonstrators clashed with police in protests sparked by the
   death last week of an African American man while in police custody in
   the midwestern city of Minneapolis.

   Police cars and government buildings were set afire. Windows of stores
   were smashed, while looters escaped with high-priced consumer goods.
   Monuments in parks were spray painted and vandalized.

   Police and authorities in riot gear often stood guard with restraint as
   boisterous but largely peaceful street demonstrations swelled in size
   throughout Saturday. But as some of the protests turned violent as
   night fell, the authorities fired pepper pellets, tear gas and rubber
   bullets at demonstrators.

   Many of the protesters ignored early evening curfews imposed by mayors
   in dozens of cities to march in the streets and clash with police. But
   protesters in some cities were peacefully hemmed in by police who
   arrested them one by one for the curfew violations.

   Authorities in recent days, including President Donald Trump, said they
   understood the rage over the death of George Floyd, but called for
   peaceful protests and condemned violence, vowing that it would be met
   with force.

   Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was held handcuffed while face down on
   a Minneapolis street, repeatedly saying he could not breathe as a white
   police officer pressed a knee on his neck. Floyd died, and the police
   officer was charged with third degree murder several days later. The
   cellphone images of Floyd's death have sparked global outrage, with
   protests spreading across the country.

   The growing protests have now extended for five days, possibly the
   biggest coast to coast demonstrations in the U.S. since the extended
   anti-Vietnam war protests of the 1960s.

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