Police have arrested more than 4,200 people nationwide in protests following George Floyd's death

• More than 4,200 Americans have been arrested in protests over police violence following the death of George Floyd.
• Los Angeles leads the tally, with 931 arrests, according to the Associated Press.
• In many of the cities with high arrest numbers, police officers were violent toward protesters.
• Police officers in some cities, though, differed: In Houston, where 511 protesters have been arrested, the police chief announced that the city police department would march with protesters.

American police have arrested more than 4,200 protesters since demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd began less than a week ago.

The bulk of the arrests were in Los Angeles, where at least 931 protesters were arrested, according to an Associated Press tally of arrest records through May 31 at 11:31 p.m.

Next was New York, with 790; Houston, with 511; and Atlanta, with 294.

Minneapolis, Minnesota —where Floyd died as then-officer Derek Chauvin held his neck under his knee for nearly nine minutes as three officers stood by — had 155 arrests. The city has become an epicenter of anger and grief for Floyd and other black victims of police brutality, sparking protests around the world.

The high number of arrests comes amid increasing clashes between protesters and police in different cities.

In Los Angeles, police fired rubber bullets into crowds of protesters after they threw eggs and water bottles at officers, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Kevin Drum, a journalist for Mother Jones who saw the incident, said it appeared as if police were "just waiting for a water bottle to be thrown so they could retaliate in force."

In New York City, police officers drove two vehicles into a crowd of protesters on Saturday. Mayor Bill de Blasio initially supported the officers before shifting his tone and condemning them.

On Sunday, an NYPD officer pulled a gun on peaceful protesters, video footage shows. "That officer should have his gun and badge taken away today," de Blasio said.

In Atlanta, which has the fifth-most arrests, disturbing video footage emerged of police in riot gear stopping a car. One of its black passengers was pulled out of the vehicle.

An officer breaks the driver-side window, and several officers taze the driver, a black man.

But there are some outliers. Although Houston police have arrested over 500 protesters, the chief of police was seen speaking the language of solidarity to protesters on Sunday.

"We will march as a department with everybody in this community," said Chief Art Acevedo in a video on social media. "But I will not allow anyone to tear down this city, because this is our city."

• Read more:
• 'They gonna blame that on us': Videos show white protesters smashing windows and defacing stores as black protesters tell them they're endangering black lives
• People are urging influencers and celebrities to support Black Lives Matter online or stop posting entirely
• TikTok apologized for the glitch affecting the 'black lives matter' hashtag after accusations of censorship: 'We know this came at a painful time'
• George Floyd's death was caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression, an independent autopsy found