Police use tear gas and pepper spray against civil rights protesters in Arizona

Thousands of people joined protests across the country after a grim week of violence in America

Three people were arrested for 'throwing rocks' at police officers (AP)

Police used pepper spray and tear gas on people protesting in the name of civil rights in Pheonix, Arizona, after a week of police and anti-police violence across the US.

Three people were arrested during the protest after they reportedly threw rocks at police officers.

Footage captured from the event shows police dispersing tear gas and dousing people with pepper spray.

Police chief Joe Yahner said the protest was “successful” in that the protesters had made their voice heard, but the time had come for officers to disperse the crowds.

Around 1,000 people gathered at 8pm Friday by the Phoenix City Hall.

Yet in a reported span of around 15 minutes, between 10.45pm and 11pm, Mr Yahner declared the crowd represented an “unlawful assembly”.

Although police officers had sustained no injuries, they would use pepper spray on members of the public.

The march was led by Reverend Jarrett Maupin, an outspoken critic of police aggression.

Mr Maupin was confronted by bystanders during the march, which remained peaceful for several hours.

He organized the protest following a period of extreme violence in America, including the killing of two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, by white police officers.

The two deaths led to a protest in Dallas, Texas. During the same evening, 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson shot dead five white police officers and wounded six more.

Johnson was killed by a police bomb after an hours-long stand-off broke down.

Thousands of people gathered to protest against police brutality on Friday, including in New York, Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Arkansas and Washington DC.

A total of 74 people were arrested during a march in Rochester, New York, including mistakenly arresting two journalists, and four people were taken into custody in Maryland for “refusing to move” when asked by police.