A line of Minnesota State Patrol troopers guarded Minneapolis firefighters Friday as they tried to extinguish blazes set during the third consecutive night of protests in response to the Memorial Day death of George Floyd.
The video by The Associated Press shows some of the potential danger firefighters encountered as they responded to calls Thursday night and into Friday. During a CNN interview Thursday, Fire Chief John Fruetel said projectiles had been tossed at crews, and rocks had been thrown through the windows of his department vehicle.
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"We have to really consider the safety of our firefighters in those areas, so we're being very, very cautious," he told CNN's Don Lemon.
Leading up to Thursday night's demonstrations, crews had responded to 30 structure fires, and smoke could be seen along the skyline from multiple burning businesses. Late Thursday, protesters set fire to the city's Third Police Precinct station.
The fires and protests also weren't isolated to Minneapolis. Incidents spread to neighboring St. Paul. Firefighters responded to 55 fire calls in that city late Thursday and early Friday, and all those incidents didn't involve buildings, the Pioneer Press reports.
Deputy Fire Chief Roy Mokosso told the news outlet that officials were still gathering information to assess the damage done. The city's Midway neighborhood appeared to suffer the most damage.
The genesis of the turmoil in both cities began after a video was posted online showed Floyd being handcuffed and arrested by Minneapolis police officers Monday. One officer is seen kneeling on Floyd's neck as he complains of having trouble breathing.
Floyd was later pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center. The four officers in the incident were fired, and Derek Chauvin, the officer seen in the video kneeling on Floyd's neck, was arrested late Friday morning and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
