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“You changed the world, George,” he said. “We’re going to keep fighting, George.”

“We’re going to keep going until we change the whole system of justice.”

Members of Floyd’s family were among several hundred people attending the North Central University service.

Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo dropped to a knee as the hearse bearing Floyd’s remains arrived for the service.

‘NECESSARY AND OVERDUE’

A vigil for Floyd was also held in New York and was attended by thousands of people, including Floyd’s brother, Terrence.

“White Silence is Violence,” a sign read. “Make America Not Embarrassing Again,” read another.

Arrests were reported in Manhattan after the 8:00 pm curfew passed.

Upstate in Buffalo, two police officers were suspended without pay after a video showed them pushing over an elderly protester who fell and suffered a head injury.

Reporting the suspension on Twitter, city mayor Byron Brown said he and the police commissioner were “deeply disturbed” by the video.

An earlier police statement said the man, who appeared unconscious and bled heavily from one ear, “tripped and fell.”

“This incident is wholly unjustified and utterly disgraceful,” New York governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted.

“Police Officers must enforce - NOT ABUSE - the law.”

A Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, broke ranks with her party meanwhile and revealed she was “struggling” with whether to support President Donald Trump’s re-election.

Murkowski said her move was prompted by remarks from Trump’s former defence secretary James Mattis, who a day earlier delivered a biting assessment of a president who “tries to divide us.”

“I thought General Mattis’s words were true and honest and necessary and overdue,” Murkowski told reporters.

Her comments mark a major break with Trump within the Republican camp, which has largely held together through various crises including his impeachment and current threat to use military force against protests.

‘FRANKLY CRIMINAL’

While condemning Floyd’s death, Trump has adopted a tough stance towards the protesters, saying they include many “bad people” and calling on governors to “dominate the streets.”

US civil rights groups filed a case Thursday suing Trump, after security forces fired pepper balls and smoke bombs to clear peaceful demonstrators outside the White House before the president walked to a church for a photo op earlier this week.

Low-flying choppers were also used in an apparent show of force above protesters in Washington, DC on Monday night.