WASHINGTON/MINNEAPOLIS - At least five
US police were hit by gunfire during violent protests over the
death of a black man in police custody, police and media said,
hours after President Donald Trump vowed to use the military to
halt the unrest.
Trump deepened outrage on Monday by posing at a church
clutching a bible after law enforcement officers used teargas
and rubber bullets to clear the way for him to walk there after
he made his remarks in the White House Rose Garden.
Demonstrators set fire to a strip mall in Los Angeles,
looted stores in New York City and clashed with police in St
Louis, Missouri, where four officers were taken to hospital with
non-life-threatening injuries.
"Officers are still taking gunfire downtown & we will share
more info as it available," St Louis Police said on Twitter.
A police officer was also shot during protests in the Las
Vegas Strip area, AP news agency said, quoting police. Another
officer was "involved in a shooting" in the same area, the
agency said without giving details.
It did not give details of the shootings or the officers'
condition. Police declined to comment to Reuters.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said in a tweet his office had
been notified of two separate incidents in Las Vegas.
"The State
is in contact with local law enforcement and continues to
monitor the situation," he said.
Trump has condemned the killing of George Floyd, a
46-year-old African American who died after a white policeman
pinned his neck under a knee for nearly nine minutes in
Minneapolis on May 25, and has promised justice.
But, with anti-police brutality marches and rallies having
turned violent after dark each day in the past week, he said
rightful protests could not be drowned out by an "angry mob".
"Mayors and governors must establish an overwhelming law
enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled," Trump
said. "If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are
necessary to defend the life and property of their residents,
then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve
the problem for them."
Floyd's death has reignited simmering racial tensions in a
politically divided country that has been hit hard by the
coronavirus pandemic, with African Americans accounting for a
disproportionately high number of cases.
CRITICISM OF CHURCH VISIT
Following his address, Trump walked through an area that had
been cleared by police to nearby St. John's Episcopal Church,
where he posed for pictures with his daughter, Ivanka, and US Attorney General William Barr.
The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church diocese in
Washington DC, Michael Curry, was among those who criticized
Trump's use of the historic church for a photo opportunity.
"In so doing, he used a church building and the Holy Bible
for partisan political purposes," he said on Twitter. The church
suffered minor fire damage during protests on Monday night.
The White House said it was clearing the area before a
curfew.
A few hours later, thousands of people marched through
Brooklyn, shouting "Justice now!" while some passing drivers
honked in support.
Television images showed crowds smashing windows and looting
luxury stores along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan before the city's
11 p.m. curfew. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the curfew would be
moved to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
Two police officers were struck by a car at a demonstration
in Buffalo, New York, on Monday night. Officials said the driver
and passengers were believed to be in custody. It was not clear
whether the incident was intentional.
In Hollywood, dozens of people were shown in television
images looting a drug store. Windows were shattered at a nearby
Starbucks and two restaurants.
AUTOPSIES
A second autopsy ordered by Floyd's family and released on
Monday found his death was homicide by "mechanical
asphyxiation," or physical force that interfered with his oxygen
supply. The report says three officers contributed to his death.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner later released autopsy
findings that also called Floyd's death homicide by
asphyxiation. The county report said Floyd suffered
cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by police and that
he had arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl
intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.
Derek Chauvin, the 44-year-old Minneapolis police officer
who kneeled on Floyd, was arrested on third-degree murder and
second-degree manslaughter charges. Three other officers
involved in the arrest have not been charged.
Floyd's death was the latest case of police brutality
against black men that was caught on videotape and prompted an
outcry over racism in US law enforcement.
Dozens of cities are under curfews not seen since riots
after the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The
National Guard deployed in 23 states and Washington, DC.
Most Americans were just emerging from weeks of strict
"stay-at-home" orders imposed over the pandemic.