More than 10,000 people have been arrested in anti-police-brutality protests across the US since George Floyd's death

sbaker@businessinsider.com (Sinéad Baker)
·2 min read
george floyd protest raleigh
A protester faces riot policemen in Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 31, 2020.

Jonathan Drake/Reuters

  • More than 10,000 people have been arrested in the anti police-brutality protests taking place across the US, according to a tally from The Associated Press.

  • Most arrests were for low-level offenses like violating curfews, but hundreds were for more serious offenses like looting, the AP reported.

  • The protests began in response to the death of George Floyd while being subdued by police on May 25.

  • Los Angeles has more than a quarter of the arrests in the country, according to the AP.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

More than 10,000 people have been arrested across the US in anti police-brutality protests sparked by the death of George Floyd last week, according to a tally from The Associated Press.

Many arrests have been over low-level offenses, like violating the curfews put in place by cities across the country, according to the AP.

But hundreds have also been arrested on charges of burglary and looting, the AP reported.

The Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that these curfews "give police too much discretion over whom to arrest."

George Floyd protest 19
A rally in Minneapolis on Tuesday, May 26, 2020, after George Floyd's death.

Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via Getty Images

The AP also reported that it is not clear how many people who were arrested were brought to jails. Its tally includes arrests up until Wednesday evening.

The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a back man, after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground at the neck for almost nine minutes on May 25.

Police across the US have been accused of brutality and using excess force in dealing with the unrest.

minneapolis protest george floyd
Protesters gather around a liquor store in flames near the Third Police Precinct on May 28, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the protests.

Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

The AP reported that Los Angeles has more than a quarter of the arrests in the country.

Police Chief Michel Moore said on Tuesday that most arrests were made over curfew violations or a failure to disperse, with the rest made over violence like looting or assaulting police officers.

The Guardian reported that police used a University of California, Los Angeles, baseball stadium to process those who had been arrested, likely due to the sheer number of people detained.

Read the original article on Insider