Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer says police fired tear gas on protesters, as some protesters threw rocks and bottles at police.

“From my viewpoint of the scene, I thought the Omaha police department and our cooperating agencies, handled the events that were presented to us in the most professional manner as we possibly could,” Schmaderer said.

By 10:00 p.m., Schmaderer says protesters began targeting businesses for destruction. There were 12 businesses in the area vandalized, many with broken windows. At its largest, the crowd grew to 1,000 people. There were also police cruisers damaged by vandals.

Schmaderer says of those arrested, 16 were white, three African-Americans and two were Hispanic.

He expects another night of protests but asked people in Omaha to keep them peaceful.

“Even if it’s directed at us, we understand what’s going on. We see that side of you have the anger and the tension across the country,” Schmaderer said.

In the aftermath Friday evening, three people had minor injuries, one civilian and two officers. There were twenty-one arrests made for various charges including destruction of property, failure to disperse to carrying an illegal firearm.