As tensions continued to rise across the U.S.A. following the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, there were also glimmers of hope at protests over the weekend.

Several protests over the death of George Floyd erupted in violence, which also included looting. While some protests in Miami, Fla., started out peacefully on Saturday, by evening police cars had been set on fire and police used tear gas on protesters.

However, police chiefs from across the Miami Dade County gathered in Coral Gables, southwest of downtown Miami as well. There they met with protesters and talked with them. At the end of their meeting they knelt and prayed for the life of George Floyd, as well as for ways to move forward.

"As leaders of this profession, we must all do better at improving on our training and protocols so that our efforts towards building and maintaining community trust are not lost or overshadowed," says Daniel J. Junior, the president of the Miami-Dade County Association of Chiefs of Police.

"Transparency during this time is key to demonstrating Law Enforcement’s commitment to serving and protecting our residents with dignity, humanity, and respect." 

Laying weapons down

In Flint, Mich., tensions were growing at another protest. Marchers faced off with police in riot gear and chanted. 

Sherrif Chris Swanson came out and talked with the people gathered, saying that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was representative of local police officers. Chauvin was seen kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for nine minutes, while Floyd continually said he could not breathed and called out for his mother. Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder.

"Don't think for a second that he represents who these cops are from all over the county and around the station," Swanson says in a video captures by TV reporter Ron Hilliard. "We go out there to help people, not do that nonsense.

"I took my helmet off, I laid the batons down. I want you to turn this into a parade."

When Swanson asks protesters what they need the crowd begins to chant "walk with us." After a few seconds, Swanson motions forward and begins to walk with the crowd as they applaud and cheer.

Swanson tells Hilliard that "When I stood there in the line I saw the tension - you could feel it. My dad was in the riots in Detroit (in the 60s), that tension, it's lived on for generations. I took my helmet off, I went to the leader of the group and I said 'What do we need to do? How do we talk?' All people want is to be heard. Am I right? So we're hearing them" Swanson says as he marches with the protesters.

Breaking bread together

In another instance, police forces ended up having barbecues with protesters, instead of facing off in violence.

Police in Camden, N.J., marched with protesters and held a banner which said 'Standing in Solidarity.'

The Shore News Network reports that Camden was once listed as the murder capital of the world.

Police officers pose for a picture with a young boy in Camden, N.J. (Camden County Police/Twitter)"The residents of Camden know a lot about unnecessary loss of life and self-inflicted community despair," the network says.

"That’s one of the reasons why this weekend, protesters in one of the East Coast’s most notoriously dangerous cities have teamed up to march together. Camden is a city on a rebound and residents and police here are willing to work together to protect that."

Officers with the Camden County Police Department barbecued hot dogs for protesters at the end of the march.

'Declaring God as the solution'

Faith leaders in Louisville, Ky., are organizing a "Peaceably Gather Rally" in downtown Louisville, KY this Tuesday, June 2, "in a united call for an end to the riots."

Pastor Brian Gibson, founder of the PeaceablyGather.com movement, says a diverse group of local pastors will join him in leading the rally.

Gibson says they will be "Declaring God as the solution" to ending riots and healing race relations in the United States.