In Minneapolis crowds spilled on to the streets chanting: ‘One down, three to go’, while in Florida, protesters rallied outside a town home belonging to the former cop.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Friday acknowledged the ‘abject failure’ of the response to this week’s violent protests and called for swift justice.
On both Tuesday and Wednesday, protests began with peaceful demonstrations near where Floyd was pinned to the ground, but violence later broke out near the 3rd Precinct police station. Wednesday evening’s protests involved more than 30 fires, destruction of businesses and looting.
Unrest was more widespread Thursday night, with destruction spreading to St. Paul, where more than 170 businesses were damaged. In Minneapolis, rioters burned the 3rd Precinct police station.
Earlier Friday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the looting and arson must come to an end so that state can address the problems that led to Floyd’s death.
“We cannot have the looting and recklessness that went on,” he said. “It’s time for us to clean our streets.”
At that same press conference, Harrington, the commissioner of public safety, called Floyd’s death a murder.
“That’s what it looked like to me,” he said. “I’ll call it as I see it.”
Floyd’s death is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI in Minneapolis and the Department of Justice Civil Rights division.
Keith Ellison, the Attorney General, earlier told CNN that officials were ensuring they have ‘a very strong case’ before they could announce charges.
‘Everybody believes that this is a violation of Mr Floyd,’ Ellison said. ‘And I believe that everybody wants to see these charges filed as soon as they can be. But again, I do want to say we have seen cases that seem so clear go south.’
At a press conference on Thursday Mike Freeman, county attorney for Hennepin County, condemned the actions of white cop Derek Chauvin as ‘horrific and terrible’, but said prosecutors needed to determine if he used ‘excessive’ force when he knelt on the black man’s neck for eight minutes until he passed out and later died.
‘That video is graphic and horrific and terrible and no person should do that,’ he said.
‘But my job in the end is to prove he violated a criminal statute – but there is other evidence that does not support a criminal charge.’

“What’s happened in Minneapolis is bigger than any one city and any single event,” Frey said. “For our Black community who have, for centuries, been forced to endure injustice in a world simply unwilling to correct or acknowledge it: I know that whatever hope you feel today is tempered with skepticism and a righteous outrage.”
Ben Crump, the attorney representing Floyd’s family, released a statement on their behalf, saying that they were expecting first-degree murder charges.
“We call on authorities to revise the charges to reflect the true culpability of this officer,” the statement said.

In his statement Gov. Walz noted that  the state would take over the response and that it’s time to show respect and dignity to those who are suffering.
‘Minneapolis and St. Paul are on fire. The fire is still smoldering in our streets. The ashes are symbolic of decades and generations of pain, of anguish unheard,’ Walz said, adding. ‘Now generations of pain is manifesting itself in front of the world – and the world is watching.’
The governor cited a call he received from a state senator who described her district ‘on fire, no police, no firefighters, no social control, constituents locked in houses wondering what they were going to do. That is an abject failure that cannot happen.’
‘We have to restore order…before we turn back to where we should be spending our energy – making sure that justice is served,’ he said.
‘We cannot have the looting and the recklessness that went on [last night],’  Walz said.