June 8 George Floyd protest news

Today marks the 14th day of protests across the US following the death of George Floyd.

Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes as the man begged for his life, had his bail set at $1.25 million during a Monday hearing.

Floyd's death sparked two weeks of global protests that saw some of the largest crowds yet over the weekend. While the earlier days of unrest included buildings on fire and looting, protests have since remained mostly peaceful.

Here's what the protests look like around the country:

New York

Atlanta

Los Angeles

New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said his office is investigating why rubber balls were used on protesters in New Orleans on June 3.

Previously, Ferguson said police only used tear gas on protesters, but on Monday said an investigation has shown rubber balls were also used. Ferguson said neither he nor the commanding officer on scene authorized the use of rubber balls.

Ferguson said that in the 22 years that he has been with the department, rubber balls, though a part of their arsenal, have not been used as dispersal method. 

Ferguson said they are investigating the incident and communication breakdown. 

He added: "This is a dark hour that particular night. But this does not define the citizens of New Orleans, this does not define our police department."

The police department plans to release more information on the incident and investigation on Tuesday afternoon, according to a department spokesperson.

In the wake of cries for police reform following the killing of George Floyd, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says defunding and dismantling the police force is not "the solution in Atlanta."

"What people really are crying out for for more dollars to be allocated to social support services and what they see as over-policing," Bottoms told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room." "I think it's going to be incumbent upon people to really dig into municipal budgets which can be a complicated process, but really look at what the cities are doing and the solutions may not always be defunding police as much as making sure that we are allocating funding in our budget for these programs that are so important to our community."

Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council on Sunday announced they intend to defund and dismantle the city's police department. 

President Trump has rejected calls for disbanding police departments and has used the defunding the police campaign to attack Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Biden's campaign spokesperson said in a statement that the presidential candidate does not support defunding the police.

"That's been my concern that this would be weaponized against people across this country who are well intentioned," Bottoms said. "They want better support services for communities. They want less policing and more partnership within our communities, and I think that when you simplify a message it feeds right into Donald Trump's strong suit. He is able to simplify messages and amplify them as propaganda, but again, I think that's where it's incumbent upon us as leaders of good conscience to help articulate and convey to communities when this real work is already happening." 

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Thousands of mourners gathered today at the Fountain of Praise Church in Houston, Texas, to view the body of George Floyd.

Following social distancing guidelines, visitors filed into the church six feet apart and wearing masks. Each person is allowed only a few seconds to pay their respects to Floyd, who lays in a golden casket, shrouded by several bouquets of white flowers.

Many of the visitors wore shirts supporting Black Lives Matter and with Floyd’s last words “I can’t breathe." 

With gospel songs playing in the background from artist including CeCe Winans and Kurt Carr, several mourners wiped away tears as they stopped in front of the casket. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking outside the viewing of Floyd, called his death “the most horrific tragedy” he has ever observed and vowed that his life and death would “change the arc of the future of the United States.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rev. Jesse Jackson, actor Kevin Hart and rappers Master P and Ludacris were also in attendance. Lawmakers from Ghana paid tribute to Floyd in a taped presentation where Barbara Oteng Gyasi, the Minister of Tourism, unveiled a plaque and mural.

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The United States Conference of Mayors launched a new working group to address “police violence and patterns of racial discrimination,” the group – known as USCM – said in a statement Monday.

The working group – led by the mayors of Chicago, Tampa and Cincinnati – aims to outline specific recommendations on policing practices.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said: “This is about generational discrimination in our communities, and police accountability is a crucial part of the work that needs to be done to address this issue in a holistic manner.”

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy is now open to a "bipartisan conversation” about renaming nearly a dozen major installations that bear the names of Confederate military commanders, according to an Army official.

This is a significant change for the Army which has long said these bases were named after the Civil War as part of an effort towards reconciliation between northern and southern states.

The official said McCarthy is acutely aware that while he could likely unilaterally rename them, there needs to be consultation with the White House, Congress and state and local governments.

The Army installations involved currently include thousands of troops and families that are an integral part of the communities where they are locate such as Fort Bragg, North Carolina, named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg.

The official Army website cited his service in the Mexican American war as the reason the original installation Camp Bragg was named after him. Other bases named after Confederate officers include Fort Hood in Texas and Fort AP Hill in Virginia.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he “fully supports” the city attorney’s decision not to prosecute peaceful protesters who were arrested for breaking curfew of failing to disperse.

The decision does not apply to those accused of violence, looting or vandalism. 

“This moment has the potential to bend the arc of our future toward a more fair and just city and country for everyone, if we're willing to seize it,” Garcetti said in a statement.

He continued: “I hope Angelenos will stay engaged in the cause to bring transformational progress. That is how we will continue the hard, necessary work of rooting out racism from our institutions, policies, laws and communities.”

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson made two announcements today in regards to steps they have taken in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

Hutchinson announced the National Guard is going back on normal status. 

“In essence they have been deactivated. They were called up as a support and caution,” he said.  

The governor said he plans to make an announcement tomorrow at 11 a.m. about a task force that deals with police training, certifications and standards. He explained he had been having some very good meetings with protest leaders who he called “wonderful leaders in our community,” and some young leaders across the state. Hutchinson said though he told them he would have an executive order ready today, instead it would be ready tomorrow. 

President Trump said that there will be no defunding or disbanding of police departments and claimed that 99% of police officers are "great, great people," during a roundtable with members of law enforcement at the White House on Monday.

Trump praised the law enforcement leaders in the room and touted the low crime rates in the United States this year. The President said it has been a “very strong year for less crime.”

The President said he wants to make sure that there are no “bad actors,” but he feels 99% of police are “great great people.”

“Sometimes you’ll see some horrible things like we witnessed recently but 99, I say 99.9, but let’s go with 99% of them are great great people and they’ve done jobs that are record setting,” Trump said.

He refused again to take questions from reporters about his administration's response to the protest movement Monday. 

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