Attorney Robin Flores, himself a former police officer, comments on Minnesota police officers.
Criminal peace while acknowledging the reasons behind the unrest.
What weve seen over the last two days the violence was sparked by mondays death of george floyd who could be seen on video with a police officers knee on his neck for several minutes while he struggled to breathe.
We feel as if there was a knee on all of our collective necks, a knee that says black life does not matter.
Most protesters were peaceful but some clashed with police.
Looters broke into nearby businesses, and some set buildings on fire.
The citys fire department says it responded to around 30 fires overnight.
There are several structures destroyed behind me not just the one you see in fact we're told this was low income housing that was being built.
I don't know if the people who did this knew that but that is the result of what happened overnight here.
Among those demanding justice in minneapolis thursday-- the reverend al sharpton.
Sharpton was joined by the family of eric garner -- who died after a new york city police officer put him in a chokehold while arresting him in 2014.
This is opening an old wound, pouring salt in it.
We are going to make sure this prosecution goes down.
The mayor has asked the governor for help and authorized a unified command structure to bring in additional resources to quell the violence.
Jeff pegues, cbs news, minneapolis.
Four officers involved in the incident have been fired.
Federal authorities are conducting a criminal investigation into floyds death.
From nearly a thousand miles conducting a criminal investigation into floyds death.
From nearly a thousand miles away, the chaos in south minneapolis has peaked concern in chattanooga.
News 12's taylor bishop explains.
George floyd death impacts local law enforcement , chattanooga "that is not how you keep someone pinned to the ground or to the floor" burning fires and looters struck minneapolis after violent protests over the death of george floyd who died in police custody.
"that took nine minutes, that was nine minutes.
Watching that guy suffer that way and for those officers not to intervene they are equally culpable."
Here in chattanooga local law enforcement addressed the issues head on.
Chattanooga police chief david roddy and chief deputy austin garrett strongly disagreed with the officer in questionins decision.
Attorney robin flores who has dealt with civil rights cases says situations like these are all to common.
"shear disregard what they were doing to that man.
The officers standing around should have intervened, that was a classic failure to protect and to me it was tantamount to a lynching."
As a former police officer himself flores notes their was a better way to handle that situation.
"doctor king said himself, riot is the voice of the unheard.
But that's not the way to go , you know that's not the way to go."
The u.s. attorney's office and the fbi in minneapolis are now conducting a criminal investigation into george floyd's death.
In chattanooga, taylor bishop news 12 now.
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