New York governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday urged communities in the state to reform their police forces over the next nine months, saying they would receive no funding from the state if they failed to do so.

A NYPD officer stands guard on 5th Avenue at Trump Tower during a protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the aftermath over the death of George Floyd on June 12, 2020 in New York City. (Photo: AFP)

"You tell us, county by county, city by city, what police force do you want," CBS News quotes Cuomo, explaining that he wanted communities to make decisions within nine months in order to "birth a new vision for the police force."

The 62-year-old said if counties and communities failed to pass laws to reform their police forces by April 2021, they would miss out on funding.

"If you don't want state funding, then you don't have to do it," Cuomo said. He said protesters don't need to demonstrate anymore, arguing they "won" and localities now agreed police forces should be reformed.

The U.S. has been rocked by weeks of protests since the death of an unarmed black man during arrest in Minneapolis.

George 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.