Killer Mike has pleaded with Atlanta residents not to “burn your own house down” in anger over the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd.

In a tearful speech, the US rapper said he was “tired of seeing black men die” but added that burning property was not the right course of action.

“I’m mad as hell. I woke up wanting to see the world burn yesterday,” he said in reaction to seeing footage of George Floyd’s final moments as he lay face down on a street in Minneapolis while a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck.

“[Chauvin] casually put his knee on a human being’s neck for nine minutes as he died like a zebra in the clutch of a lion’s jaw,” Killer Mike added.

“So that’s why children are burning it to the ground.

“They don’t know what else to do. And it is the responsibility of us to make this better right now.

“We don’t want to see one officer charged, we want to see four officers prosecuted and sentenced.

“We don’t want to see targets burning, we want to see the system that sets up for systemic racism burnt to the ground.”

Thousands of people across the US have been protesting for several consecutive nights demanding justice for Mr Floyd’s death – but violence has overshadowed many of them.

On Friday night, a 19-year-old was killed when shots were fired into a crowd during protests in Detroit, while buildings and cars were set on fire in Minneapolis, Portland, Atlanta and Oakland.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Saturday he was launching an independent investigation after social media videos showed officers using batons and shoving protesters.

He said one demonstrator had also been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a petrol bomb was thrown into a police car.

Killer Mike, whose father was a police officer in Atlanta, addressed protesters in his speech, saying that while he has “a lot of love and respect for police officers”, he had also “watched a white officer assassinate a black man, and I know that tore your heart out”.

He later added: “I am duty-bound to be here to simply say that it is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy.

“It is your duty to fortify your own house, so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organisation. And now is the time to plot, plan, strategise, organise, and mobilise.

“It is time to beat up prosecutors you don’t like at the voting booth. It is time to hold mayoral offices accountable, chiefs and deputy chiefs.

“Atlanta is not perfect, but we’re a lot better than we ever were, and we’re a lot better than cities are.”

Turning his focus to CNN, which had its offices in Atlanta defaced, he said: “I love CNN… but I gotta say to CNN right now, karma’s a mother.

“Stop feeding fear and anger every day. Stop making people feel so fearful and give them hope.

“I’m glad [protesters] only took down a sign and defaced a building, and they’re not killing human beings like that policeman did.

“I’m glad that they only destroyed some brick and mortar and they didn’t rip a father from a son, they didn’t rip a son from a mother, like the policeman did.”

Derek Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder, while the other three officers he was on duty with at the time of Floyd’s death have been fired from their local police department in Minneapolis.

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