George Floyd protest in Omaha: Arrests made, stores damaged after hundreds gather near 72nd & Dodge

Hundreds of people lined and gathered in the heavily traveled intersection at 72nd and Dodge streets in Omaha on Friday evening for what began as a peaceful protest of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

But the mass gathering swelled into the streets as crowds lingered for hours, and

declaring the protests had become unlawful and urging people to disperse — and stay away — from the area.

Omaha Police deployed smoke cans into crowds around 7 p.m. after a police car was surrounded by protestors. According to authorities, a help an officer call was then deployed, followed by the gas and pepper balls. The officers then reported compliance.

OPD said the protest remained peaceful "for the most part."

Unverified Omaha Police scanner reports around 7:45 p.m. indicated about 1,000 had gathered and that the crowd had begun moving east along Dodge Street.

People began lining up on the intersection — most wearing masks — around 6 p.m. Anticipating large crowds, the nearby Target store had closed hours before.

Police want people to stay away from 72nd and Dodge.

Crowds were seen spilling out into the intersection by 8 p.m. [

]

Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis Police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck,

. Local authorities in the city imposed an overnight curfew Friday to try to stem three nights of

.

Gov. Pete Ricketts responded to expected protests during his COVID-19 response update on Friday afternoon saying he hadn't seen the video of the incident himself, but that he can "certainly understands why a peaceful demonstration is called for."

Ricketts encouraged those protesting to "exercise their First Amendment rights in a peaceful way."

The

and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office both issued statements earlier this week in response to the incident.

Friday's protest in Omaha wasn't the first. A group of about 50 people

.