How a call to police over a $20 bill unleashed huge protests across the US

The death this week of an unarmed black man at the hands of a Minnesota police officer has unleashed a wave of protests across the United States.

Demonstrators first turned out in the city of Minneapolis where George Floyd died, but rallies quickly broke out in Georgia, California, New York, Kentucky, Florida and Pennsylvania.

The city of Minneapolis has been left with burned-out buildings and looted stores.

The Minneapolis police chief swiftly fired all four officers involved, and called for an FBI investigation.

But protesters quickly took to the streets to demand justice in a city where police have sometimes been accused of unfair treatment against black residents.

And in 2018, Thurman Blevins was killed during a police chase in the city.

While the protests across America were triggered by the death of Mr Floyd, anger over the relationship between police and black residents was already simmering in some states.

The deaths of African-Americans including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland and many others have led to huge protests and spawned the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the city of Chicago, for example, 70 per cent of COVID-10 victims are black despite being less than 30 per cent of the population.