A photo has gone viral showing a group of mostly black men linked arms to protect a lone Louisville Metro police officer who was separated from his unit when protests turned violent in the city last week in response to the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

The white officer, shown wearing a helmet, face shield, and bulletproof vest, stood in front of Bearno’s By-the-Bridge, a pizza chain restaurant near the Second Street Bridge and the Yum Center.

A group of men, reportedly the initial protest organizers, wore face masks and linked arms to prevent other members of the crowd from reaching the officer while he waited for his squad to return, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

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“Last night in Louisville. Protesters protected an officer separated from his squad,” one Louisville native, Nancy Duncan, tweeted, sharing the newspaper’s photos. “I hope the news covers this.”

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

Duncan, trying to shift the narrative, responded to tweets from MSNBC contributor Joyce Alene and AM Joy’s Joy Reid.

“Remarkable info coming out of this presser: Gov. Tim Walls, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and now MN attorney general Keith Ellison ALL alleging outside forces, domestic and possibly foreign, have post-Tuesday infiltrated the state, and are,” Joy had written.

Alene, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama who was nominated by President Obama, responded: “The DOJ I worked in would be investigating this already. But we would’ve also tried to avoid this fever pitch, by using the Community Relations Service to listen & give the community a strong voice. There would be a pattern and practice investigation into the police departments.”

Protesters shout in front of Kentucky State Police officers as they protest the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Friday, May 29, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. Breonna Taylor, a black woman, was fatally shot by police in her home in March. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The photos shared in Duncan's tweet were taken Thursday, the same day between 500 and 600 people marched through downtown Louisville chanting Breonna Taylor’s name and demanding the officers involved in her death be charged.

Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot eight times by narcotics detectives who busted down her front door on March 13. Her boyfriend shot at the officers, and Taylor was struck by their returning gunfire. No drugs were recovered from the scene.

Crowds came out Thursday after The Courier-Journal obtained and released the 911 call made by Taylor’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Kenneth Walker, who can be heard saying: “I don't know what is happening. Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend." The "no-knock" warrant does not require law enforcement to announce or identify themselves during a raid.

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Some protesters clashed with police outside Metro Hall, where one group tried to topple an armored police vehicle, slashing its tires and shattering its windows. Police deployed tear gas and shot paintballs at the crowd. Gunfire rang out and at least seven people were injured. Police swept the streets around 11 p.m. in an effort to disperse crowds.

Protests continued into the weekend, and Kentucky State Police were also on scene.