Protest of Minneapolis man's death blocks Memphis street
Officers form a line in front of a police precinct Wednesday, May 27, 2020, in Memphis, Tenn., during a protest over the death of George Floyd in police custody earlier in the week in in Minneapolis.[AP Photo/Adrian Sainz]
The mayor of Memphis said Thursday that he shares the frustration of protesters angry over the death of a handcuffed black man during a confrontation with a white police officer in Minnesota.
But he says he wishes more people would have observed coronavirus-related social distancing at a demonstration at a police precinct.
A racially mixed group of more than 70 people gathered outside the precinct in Midtown Memphis then walked down Union Avenue on Wednesday night to protest the deaths of George Floyd. Police blocked the avenue, a main Memphis thoroughfare, and later donned riot gear as the situation grew increasingly tense late into the night.