George Floyd protest shuts down Union
Protesters locked hands and kneeled while blocking Union Avenue in from of the Memphis Police Department Midtown station during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Protest organizers marched up and down Union Avenue chanting "no justice, no police" at times shutting down traffic along the busy corridor. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Protesters kneel in front of the Union Avenue police station in Memphis, Tennessee during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
One protester held up police crime scene while marching down Union Avenue during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Despite the mostly peaceful evening, tensions began to run high as the protest wore one, as a man in a gas mask confronts police on Union Avenue during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A protestor winces in pain after being pepper sprayed by Memphis police during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
Riot police joke with each other while forming a phalanx-like formation along Union Avenue during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A Memphis Police officer looks out into the crowd during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
One protestor records a line of riot police during a May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
A Memphis Police officer fist bumps a protestor in an attempt to bring the May 28, 2020 protest over the death of George Floyd to a peaceful conclusion. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
About 100 people, rallying over the death of George Floyd, who died at the hands of Minneapolis police, closed down a portion of Union Avenue on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Protesters, rallying over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, march along Union Avenue on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Memphis Police closed down a portion of Union Avenue on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 as demonstrators rallied in honor of George Floyd, who died at the hands of Minneapolis police. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
About 100 people rally Downtown over the death of George Floyd on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
A Memphis police officer, masked due to the pandemic, urges protesters to remain on other side of the barried on Union Avenue Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Protesters, rallying over the death of George Floyd, hold up photos and signs Downtown on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Protesters shout their anger Downtown over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer (middle) rallied with nearly 100 people Downtown over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 27, 2020. (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian)
What began as a silent protest of the death of a Minnesota man at the hands of police grew heated Wednesday night, May 27, as counter-protesters confronted the group and Memphis Police shut down a portion of Union Avenue.
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Confederate 901 MPD George FloydYolanda Jones
Yolanda Jones covers criminal justice issues and general assignment news for The Daily Memphian. She previously was a reporter at The Commercial Appeal.
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