George Floyd Protests Mostly Peaceful as Arrests Top 10,000

PROTESTS OVER THE DEATH of George Floyd were mostly peaceful into the ninth night of demonstrations.

Crowds in New York City and Washington, D.C., stayed out long past curfews but had seemingly fewer violent confrontations with law enforcement than were seen on other nights.

In New Orleans, however, police fired tear gas at protesters who were trying to cross the Crescent City Connection bridge.

Authorities have made more than 10,000 arrests related to the protests, according to the Associated Press. Los Angeles reports more than a quarter of them, followed by New York, Dallas and Philadelphia.

The gatherings came after more charges were brought in relation to Floyd’s death.

Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer at the time, kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin was fired after the video was made public, and charges against him were elevated on Wednesday to second-degree murder. Three other officers were also on the scene. They were fired, and warrants were issued for their arrests on Wednesday.

Floyd’s autopsy found that he had the coronavirus. The document from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office shows that Floyd tested positive for the virus on April 3, weeks before his May 25 death. It found that he was likely asymptomatic.

A memorial service for Floyd will take place in Minneapolis on Thursday.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz said the memorial would be a healing opportunity.

“It’s critically important for them to see and for Minnesotans to display to them that there’s another side to us and to this state that they didn’t see last Monday night,” Walz said on Wednesday.