The US has been gripped by protests over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died last week in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and police brutality nationwide.
US President Donald Trump has outraged faith leaders and protesters for walking to a historic church near the White House and creating a photo opportunity, just minutes after police used chemical smoke canisters and flashbangs on peaceful protesters to clear the way for the rare walk.
Protesters are demanding all four officers involved be charged in Floyd's death. So far, only one - white officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as he pleaded, "I can't breathe" - has been arrested and charged on Friday with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Medical examiners have ruled the death a homicide.
Those protesting against police brutality have been met with, at times, excessive force by authorities. Journalists have also been targeted by police. Officers have also been injured in the protests.
Protesters have remained undeterred by curfews and the presence of the US National Guard in some cities. Largely peaceful protests have turned violent, with looting and vandalism as the night raged on.
Nationwide protests against police brutality in the US have seen thousands of people demonstrating in close quarters, chanting, shouting, and coughing when hit by tear gas, something that has raised concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
Experts say racialised police violence is a grave and neglected public health crisis for African Americans, threatening not just their lives but increasing their risk of developing stress-related diseases, from heart failure to cancer.
US musician Jay-Z, along with lawyers, activists and victims of police violence, has taken out full-page advertisements in newspapers across the United States in memory of George Floyd, an African-American man who died in police custody.
The ad, which was posted on the Instagram account of Jay-Z's philanthropic project Roc Nation, is captioned "In dedication to George Floyd." It features an excerpt from a speech by the Black civil rights activist Martin Luther King in 1965.
"I wanted everybody to know that this is what those officers took from me," Roxie Washington said, Gianna standing by her side."At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families," she added. "Gianna does not have a father. He will never see her grow up, graduate. He will never walk her down the aisle. If there's a problem she's having and she needs a dad, she does not have that any more."
Washington's heartbreaking comments came more than one week after Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died after a white officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, setting off mass protests across the United States.
A video of the incident shows Floyd repeatedly pleading "I can't breathe" before going motionless, still under the officer's knee.
"The image that most of us have of George Floyd is the horrible video that we've seen," said Floyd family lawyer, Chris Stewart, alongside Washington and Gianna.
"We've seen the anger in the streets; we've seen so much violence; we've seen beauty, also. We've seen people standing up and speaking up, and we've seen massive changes across the country," he added. "But what we really wanted the world to see is the beauty of their child. The beauty of Gianna who is going to be taller than me soon, just like her dad. The beauty of Roxie who is holding up strong throughout this. And the actual situations in life that these things affect."
'I want justice'
County and private medical examiners have both ruled the autopsy a homicide, but they differed on how Floyd died.
The private autopsy, requested by Floyd's family, found that the 46-year-old died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression by police, according to the Floyd family lawyers.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner found that Floyd "experienced a cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officer(s)". It said Floyd suffered "other significant conditions", including heart disease and hypertension, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.
