London police says at least 23 officers injured during 'Black Lives Matter' protests

At least 23 police officers have been injured in London over the past few days as protesters gathered in large numbers to demand justice for George Floyd, an African-American man who was killed late last month by a Caucasian police officer in Minneapolis. According to the London Metropolitan Police, ten officers were injured during the June 6 demonstration, including an officer from the Mounted Branch, who fell from her horse after the protest grew violent. 

Read: Largely Peaceful Protests Against Police Brutality March On

"We understand peoples' passion to come and let their voice be heard, they protested largely without incident. Our officers have been professional and very restrained but there was a smaller group intent on violence towards police officers," Superintendent Jo Edwards, spokesperson for policing Saturday's demonstration, said in a statement released on London Metropolitan Police's webpage. 

Read: US: Protests Continue In NYC Amid Tensions Over Curfew

"Twenty-three officers have received injuries, doing their job, policing protest over the last few days, and that is totally unacceptable. There have been 14 arrests made today, but we expect that number to rise and there will be a post-event investigation carried out," Edwards added further. 

Read: Protesters Flood Streets In Huge, Peaceful Push For Change

As per the London police department, the crowd became violent at around 7 p.m. after a vast majority of demonstrators had left the site. Police officers in protective equipment were deployed, to identify and arrest those who had committed offences, and to clear the remainder from the area outside Downing Street, the official residence of Prime Minister of UK, where people started throwing missiles and flares at security officials. 

Protests over police brutality

Protests in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world erupted after the killing of George Floyd in the United States by a white police officer on May 25. The officer named Derek Chauvin had pinned Floyd down to the ground and put his knee on George's neck for over 8 minutes. A video went viral in which Floyd was heard saying that he can't breathe, which later became the slogan of the protests. People are coming out on streets in large numbers to demand an end in racial discrimination and police brutality.  

Read: Washington Protesters Express Optimism After Week On Edge

(Image Credit: AP)