"We're sick of it. The cops are out of control," protester Olga Hall said in Washington DC
Smoke rises near a demonstrator facing a row of police during a protest to call for justice for George Floyd in Minneapolis, the US. Pic/AFP
Another night of unrest in every corner of the country left charred and shattered landscapes in dozens of US cities on Sunday as years of festering frustrations over the mistreatment of African-Americans at the hands of police boiled over in expressions of rage met with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Cars and businesses were torched, the words "I can't breathe" were spray-painted all over buildings, a fire in a trash bin burned near the gates of the White House, and thousands marched peacefully through city streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who died on Monday after a white Minneapolis officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing.
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Street artwork by Italian urban artist Salvatore Benintende aka 'TVBOY'. Pic/AFP
"We're sick of it. The cops are out of control," protester Olga Hall said in Washington DC. "They're wild. There's just been too many dead boys." People set fire to police cars, threw bottles at police officers and busted windows of storefronts, carrying away TVs and other items even as some protesters urged them to stop.
In Minneapolis, the city where the protests began, police, state troopers and National Guard members moved in soon after an 8 pm curfew took effect to break up protests, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to clear streets outside a police precinct and elsewhere.
At least 13 police officers were injured in Philadelphia. In New York City, dangerous confrontations flared repeatedly as officers made arrests and cleared streets. Police have arrested at least 1,669 people in 22 cities since Thursday. Curfews have been imposed in at least 25 cities across 16 states, reported CNN.
Massive protests raise fears of new COVID-19 outbreaks
The mayor of Atlanta has a message for demonstrators: "If you were out protesting last night, you probably need to go get a COVID-19 test this week." As emergency orders are lifted and beaches and businesses reopen, add protests to the list of concerns about a possible second wave of outbreaks. Health experts fear that silent carriers of the virus could unwittingly infect others at gatherings with people packed cheek to jowl and cheering and jeering, many without masks. One Atlanta protester said she has no choice. "It's not OK that in the middle of a pandemic we have to be out here risking our lives. But I have to protest for my life and fight for my life all the time," Spence Ingram, a black woman, said.
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