It’s been over a week since the protests against police brutality in the US began, in response to the death of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Police in the US have been responding to the protests in very different ways. Tensions have been high in many cities around the US, with chaotic scenes broadcast around the world with violent clashes between police and protestors, with President Trump vowing to ‘dominate’ protesters and threatening to bring in the military.
Source: The New York Times
On Monday, in the US state of Missouri, Jalen Thompson, 17, organised a protest in the city of O'Fallon where the police chief Tim Clothier, and the rest of the department, joined the demonstration with the rest of the 1,500 protesters.
Clothier said he took part in the protest to show solidarity, and called the officer who killed George Floyd an "embarrassment to our profession."
Houston police chief Art Avecodo who publicly criticised Trump, and told him to “keep your mouth shut”, gave a tearful speech in front of protesters in Austin.
"What I love about this city is that they want people of colour to be talked about as being thugs and we're bums and my people, as an immigrant, were rapists. Well you know what? We built this country," he said.
"I've got news for them, we ain't going nowhere. So if you've got hate in your heart for people of colour, get over it. Because this city is a minority majority city.
"So we will march as a department with everybody in this community. I will march until I can't stand no more, but I will not...I will not allow anyone to tear down this city. Because this is our city."
He later took a knee with protesters.
In Denver, police chief Paul Pazen walked with protesters while linking their arms together.
Pazen said, "It's about accountability...We must hold ourselves accountable for our actions. And that's what we will do. This is not an issue of us versus them. This is all of us versus the issue of injustice."
Atlanta's police chief Erika Shields went into the crowd to talk to protesters about their concerns, she said earlier protesters deserve to be heard.
Reporters on Atlanta's 11 Alive news say they've never seen a scene like that in the years they've covered demonstrations.
Later, the Atlanta police also took a knee with protesters.
But it didn’t end with taking a knee.
According to CNN reporter Ryan Prior ten minutes after the video was shot, protesters began running in “terror” as the police put their gas masks on -- and five minutes after that the tear gas began.
