PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Portland Police Chief Frank Clark has taken a knee in solidarity with demonstrators outside the police headquarters as hundreds of people take to the streets for a third consecutive night of protests.

Organizers pleaded with demonstrators to remain peaceful after nearly two dozen people were arrested the night before following a demonstration that swelled to more than 1,000 people, some of whom blocked roads, smashed windows and hurled objects at police.

Protests have spread across the country in response to the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down and pressed a knee into his neck.