June 9 George Floyd protest news

Peaceful protests continued today around the US and the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis two weeks ago.

Thousands of mourners gathered at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston today to pay their respects to Floyd, who will be buried next to his mother.

His death sparked protests in the US and around the world, which have called for changes in policing and law enforcement's relationship with black and brown communities

Floyd was an "ordinary brother" from Houston's housing projects who "nobody thought much about," which makes his central role in a generational movement that much more powerful, the Rev. Al Sharpton said at his funeral today.

"God took the rejected stone and made him the cornerstone of a movement that's going to change the whole wide world," Sharpton said.

Here are what the protests look like across the US and the world:

Washington, DC

New York City

Dakar

Paris

Shouts of “George Floyd” were heard along the burial procession, as supporters gather to bid farewell to Floyd.

“Say his name” a man yelled as people yelled back “...George Floyd.” At one point people shouted “George” with others yelling back “…Floyd.” “I can’t” with others saying back “…breathe,” and finally some saying “get your knee” with the group yelling back “…off my neck.”

As the procession approached, cheers could be heard.

Floyd’s horse-drawn carriage, along with a carriage in front and one behind him, is on its way Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, Texas, where he will be buried.

Colorado Senate Democrats said in a statement they passed police reform legislation. 

Now that the state Senate passed the bill, it will go to the House. 

The bill ends the use of qualified immunity, which Colorado Democrats said "has been shielding bad actors from civil responsibility for years."

Officers also have a duty to intervene when excessive force is being used, according to the statement.  

"In so many cases of unacceptable police violence, other officers were present and did nothing to halt the incident — supporting a bystander's culture that allows abuse to continue," the statement read. 

The bill outlined protections for protesters and limits when and how police can use projectiles and chemical agents against crowds, according to the statement.

It also required compiling data and publicly reporting incidents "surrounding use of force, stops and searches of civilians, and forced entries into homes."

George Floyd’s last mile to his final resting place will now take place in a horse-drawn carriage.

There are three white carriages as part of the procession.

The carriage carrying Floyd has glass doors and windows that show his gold casket. It is drawn by two white horses. The top is covered with white flowers.

Several balloons, including two large football balloons, are attached to one of the other carriages. A white poster with his image and name has been hung on the back of it. Another poster attached to the side of that carriage reads “Jack Yates 88” in reference to Floyd’s high school alma mater and his football jersey number.

Aerial footage of the procession shows the streets lined with mourners and spectators.

Floyd will be buried next to his mother at Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, Texas.

Watch:

The Phoenix Police Department has announced it will no longer use the “Carotid Control Technique,” more commonly known as a chokehold

“We can't function as a department without the trust of our community and there are adjustments we can make to strengthen that trust,” the department’s chief, Jeri Williams, tweeted.

The department said the move is part of their regular evaluation of “policies and procedures to align them with 21st century policing practices, community expectations, and our department’s mission and values.”

In response to questions about President Trump's comments on the unrest across the country following the death of George Floyd, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfood said Trump is "trying to divide us in everything that he does."

She also said during a news conference Tuesday she is open to state licensing for police officers in her city.

"If I can't get my nails done, which I don't do you can probably tell, but if I did, the person who is handling my nails is licensed by the state. If I go get a haircut, the barber is licensed by the state," Lightfoot said. "There's a uniformity in the professionalism and then they have to recertify themselves on a regular basis. Why wouldn't we have that for police officers? I think it's an idea that we absolutely must discuss and debate, because it makes sense."

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Seattle-area chapter of Black Lives Matter filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Seattle in an effort to “immediately stop the use of chemical agents and projectiles on protesters,” a statement and court filings revealed.

The lawsuit, filed today in the Western District of Washington, argued the police’s use of chemical agents and projectiles for crowd control violates the First and Fourth Amendments.

“It is unacceptable that the Seattle Police Department would then respond to these demonstrations with more excessive force, including using tear gas and flashbang grenades," Livio De La Cruz, board member of Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County, said in the statement.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue an emergency order barring the use of “less-lethal weapons to control and suppress demonstrations.”

Less-lethal weapons include “chemical irritants, batons, kinetic impact projectiles, and weapons intended to stun with light and sound,” the suit says.

“This is one of many lawsuits the ACLU plans to file across the country to safeguard our right to protest in peace,” Vera Eidelman, a staff attorney with the ACLU, said in the statement.

The hearse carrying George Floyd has left the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, Texas, following his private memorial service.

Escorted by the Houston Police Department, the procession will now make its way towards the cemetery where Floyd will be buried.

For the last mile of the journey, George Floyd’s casket is expected to be carried by a horse-drawn carriage to his final resting place, next to his mother in the Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland, Texas.

The funeral service for George Floyd has now ended.

Floyd's body will be escorted by the Houston Police Department into Pearland's Houston Memorial Gardens.  

Floyd will travel the last mile of his journey to buried in a horse drawn carriage, according to a statement from the city of Pearland on Monday.  

Floyd, 46, will be buried next to his mother, according to the Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center.