State Police Arrive At Deserted Police Precinct Set Ablaze By Crowds Protesting George Floyd's Death

State police in body armor and riot gear lined up Friday morning near the Minneapolis police precinct that was set ablaze by protesters overnight following the death of an unarmed black man this week in city officers' custody.

Minneapolis police release 911 call that led to encounter with George Floyd.

Donning protective helmets with face shields and carrying batons, they stood near the site littered with debris after a night of confrontations and sprayed mace at protesters who got too close. Some responded by throwing projectiles at the officers as others fled.

Fires raged overnight in Minneapolis as crowds shattered windows and charged over a fence to get access to 3rd Police Precinct. They chanted George Floyd's name and "I can't breathe," marching past buildings engulfed in smoke and orange flames.

Others tossed fireworks toward the precinct, which is closest to where Floyd was captured on video with an officer kneeling on his neck Monday before he died. Before state police arrived, the precinct was deserted after officers were evacuated Thursday.

"There are no words in the English language that will convey the despair that I felt watching that man's life leave his body and him scream out for his mother," Alicia Smith, a community organizer, said Thursday afternoon of watching the video this week. "I heard my son saying, 'Mama, save me.'"

"My kids are little boys, and my son asked me, 'Am I gonna live to be a grown-up?'" she told CNN. "I gotta ruin his innocence and tell him how to exist as a young black boy in this country."

Law enforcement officers amassed along Lake Street near Hiawatha Avenue as fires burned after a night of unrest and protests in the death of George Floyd early Friday, May 29, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Another organizer, Shanene Herbert, said it's important that "we give young people the space to be angry."