George Floyd protesters rock Minneapolis for third night

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Protesters cheer as fireworks are lit and multiple fires burn Thursday night near an abandoned police precinct in Minneapolis as part of reaction to the death of George Floyd. Photo by Craig Lassig/EPA-EFE
Protesters burn the Minneapolis Police Department Third Precinct Thursday during protests over the Minneapolis arrest of George Floyd in St. Paul, Minn. Photo by Tannen Maury/EPA-EFE
A police officer stands guard Thursday as demonstrations protesting the death of George Floyd expand in St. Paul, Minn. Photo by Craig Lassig/EPA-EFE
New York City police officers arrest Black Lives Matter protesters at Union Square in New York City on Thursday. Protests continued in Minneapolis and in other cities over the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Black Lives Matter protesters clash with police officers at Union Square in New York City on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A photo of George Floyd was placed among the flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial near the scene of the of Floyd's arrest in Minneapolis on May 27, 2020. Photo by Craig Lassig/EPA-EFE

May 29 (UPI) -- Protests over the police-involved death of George Floyd continued well into the morning Friday after a third night of violence in Minneapolis, while similar disturbances broke out in Louisville and other parts of the country.

Late Thursday, demonstrators set fire to a police precinct building in the Minneapolis neighborhood where Floyd died Monday after he was restrained by a Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck.

Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill at a grocery store.

The precinct building had been evacuated by order of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said he was unwilling to endanger lives to protect the building.

"I understand the importance of a precinct," he said. "[But] the symbolism of a building cannot outweigh the importance of life, of our officers, or the public. We could not risk serious injury to anyone and we will continue to patrol the third precinct entirely."

At 4:30 a.m. Friday, protesters and looters still were out on the streets in the neighborhood as several nearby commercial buildings burned unchecked.

Firefighters arrived shortly afterward, accompanied by state police in riot gear, who began to arrest people in the area, including a CNN reporter and crew members.

CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and three crew members were taken into custody live on the air. The news organization immediately criticized the arrests and called for their release.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said later in the morning he "took full responsibility" for incident while issuing a "very public apology" to CNN.

"There is no reason something like this should happen," he said.