The Minneapolis Police Department will withdraw from police union contract negotiations, Chief Medaria Arradondo said Wednesday as he announced the first steps in what he said would be transformational reforms to the agency in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Arradondo said a thorough review of the contract is planned, adding that the contract needs to be restructured to provide more transparency and flexibility for true reform. The review would look at matters such as critical incident protocols, use of force, and disciplinary protocols, including grievances and arbitration.

He said it's debilitating for a chief when an officer does something that is grounds for termination, but the union works to keep that person on the job, and on the street.

"This work must be transformational, but I must do it right," Arradondo said of changes to the department.

Arradondo's remarks come a day after George Floyd, the unarmed black man killed by police in Minneapolis, was laid to rest at the Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland.

Floyd died on 25 May after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes as he and his colleagues arrested him.

An onlooker's cell phone recorded the incident showing the 46-year-old black man moaning, "Please, I can't breathe" and "Don't kill me" as the police officer pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck.

After several minutes of the police officer pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck, the victim went silent and was later pronounced dead.

The video quickly went viral on social media, sparking widespread protest from Tuesday afternoon, some of which have deteriorated into chaos.

In the two weeks since his death, protests have spilled beyond the U.S. as countries across the world show solidarity with the demonstrators seeking justice for Floyd's family.