US protests calm after arrests, clashes with cops

Protesters stirred by the death of George Floyd are vowing to turn an extraordinary outpouring of grief into a sustained movement as demonstrations shift to a calmer, but no less determined, focus on addressing racial injustice.

In Minneapolis, where Floyd died in police custody and the protest movement sparked, the city agreed Friday to ban police chokeholds and require officers to intervene any time they see unauthorized force by another officer.

By early afternoon, demonstrations resumed for an 11th day around the country with continued momentum as the mood of the protests largely shifted from explosive anger to more peaceful calls for change.

Despite the change in tone, the country's most significant demonstrations in a half-century rivalling those during the civil rights and Vietnam War eras _ showed no signs of dissipating. .

Protests around the country had initially been marred by the setting of fires and smashing of windows, but Friday marked at least the third day of more subdued demonstrations.

At demonstrations around the country, protesters said the quieter mood was the result of factors including the new and upgraded criminal charges against the officers involved in Floyd's death and a more conciliatory approach by police who have marched with them or taken a knee to recognize their message.