Police Officer Arrested, Charged with Murder in George Floyd's Death After Days of Riots

Minneapolis endured another night of violent protests over the death of a black man in the custody of white police officer.

Now the officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck and left him unable to breathe has been arrested. Derek Chauvin was arrested Friday in connection with Floyd's death. A prosecutor says he's being charged with murder and manslaughter.

Chauvin and three other officers were fired earlier this week for the deadly incident.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has deployed the National Guard to stem the escalating violent protests in Minneapolis.

On Thursday night and Friday morning, demonstrators destroyed businesses, looted and stole from stores, and even set a police precinct on fire. Many stores are closing in the wake of the violence.

One city council member says this is not the way to protest. "You have every absolute right to be angry. However, you have no right to perpetrate violence and harm on the very communities that you say that you are standing up for," said Andrea Jenkins, vice president of the Minneapolis City Council. 

Floyd died in police custody after an officer put his knee on Floyd's neck while he was pinned to the ground. The deadly force inflicted on Floyd at first sparked peaceful protests, but they've spiraled out of control.

 
A protester carries a U.S. flag upside down, a sign of distress, next to a burning building May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis in protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

President Donald Trump tweeted that the turn toward violence doesn't honor the memory of George Floyd.

Floyd's girlfriend told the Star Tribune that the riots would "devastate" him, and that she wanted people to protest peacefully.

The protests have also spread to other cities across the country in cities like Los Angeles, Denver, New York, and Memphis.

Meanwhile, a protest of another incident of deadly force by police got very violent - this time in Louisville, Kentucky. Demonstrators there are protesting the killing of Breonna Taylor who was shot by police in her home back in March.

At least seven people were shot by other civilians Thursday night as protesters converged on City Hall in Louisville. 

"No officers discharged their service weapons," and all seven shot were civilians, police spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington said.

Breonna Taylor was shot eight times in her home by narcotics detectives, but no drugs were found there.