• As demonstrations escalate across the US over the death of George Floyd, police chiefs were seen talking directly with and listening to protesters.
  • Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall pleaded with protesters to remain peaceful, saying “you can’t hit my folks.”
  • Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields told protesters “you have a right to be upset to be scared, and to want to yell.”
  • Police officers in Camden, New Jersey, marched with protesters, carrying a sign that read “Standing in solidarity.”
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Protests over the death of George Floyd continued to rage across the United States on Friday evening as tensions escalated between demonstrators and police.

In at least two cities, police chiefs were seen speaking directly with protesters as they attempted to deal with the growing demonstrations.

Dallas police chief Reneé Hall told CBS DFW that protests had started peacefully but that at one point officers were hit with “a hail of bricks.”

In a video posted to Twitter by @CalebJHull, Hall could be seen talking with a protester, saying: “You can’t hit my folks… Somebody threw a rock at my officer. Don’t do that.”

In Atlanta, earlier on Friday, Police Chief Erika Shields talked with protesters as well. In a video posted to Twitter by @joonhopekook, Shields listened to a protester say that she was terrified of the police presence amid the demonstrations.

"You have a right to be upset to be scared, and to want to yell," Shields said.

"I'm standing here because what I saw was my people face-to-face with this crowd, and everybody's thinking: 'How can defuse it?'" Shields added: "And I'm not having it, I'm not having that."

https://twitter.com/joonhopekook/status/1266494398080172032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In Camden, New Jersey, officers were seen marching with protesters, in videos Joshua Potash and @sandeemusready posted to Twitter. Officers carried a sign that read "Standing in solidarity."

https://twitter.com/JoshuaPotash/status/1266895422397779968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/sandeemusready/status/1266853381999648769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Protests erupted in Minneapolis on Tuesday after a black man, George Floyd, was killed after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, as Floyd said he couldn't breathe.

The death was caught on video and prompted protests in Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Washington, DC, and other US cities this week. The demonstrations continued for a fifth night on Saturday.