Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member European Knight's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    France
    Posts
    4,548

    Exclamation Jamar Clark death: Protesters rally after no charges filed against police

    By Dana Ford, Eliott C. McLaughlin and Ray Sanchez, CNNUpdated 0305 GMT (1005 HKT) March 31, 2016 | Video Source: WCCO

    (CNN)Protesters rallied and marched on the streets of Minneapolis on Wednesday after a prosecutor announced that officers involved in the shooting death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark would not face charges.

    "Hey, hey, ho ho. These racist cops have got to go," they chanted.

    Clark was African-American; Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, the officers involved, are white.

    Schwarze shot Clark only after Ringgenberg scuffled with the young man, according to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. Clark took control of the officer's gun, the prosecutor said, and Ringgenberg told Schwarze to open fire.

    Investigators concluded the officers acted in self-defense, he said.

    "(Schwarze's) actions were reasonable given both his observations and Ringgenberg's plea," Freeman said.

    The November shooting sparked demonstrations in Minneapolis, and Freeman's announcement -- which Clark's family attended -- angered community activists.

    "If the city burns down," one woman shouted at Freeman, "it's on your hands."

    Clark's cousin, Cameron Clark, said Freeman's version of what happened made no sense to him.

    "I feel like the story is being made up, and it's all lies," he told CNN. "My cousin would never tell the cops to kill him," referring to comments the officers said his cousin made during the encounter. "... His life was doing good. My cousin never told me he was ready to die."

    After the Freeman's announcement, Clark supporters gathered near the street where he was shot. Protesters rallied later in the day, too.

    'A hard day'

    Mayor Betsy Hodges said she supported the right of people to demonstrate peaceably.

    "Today is a hard day for everyone in the city of Minneapolis," she told reporters. "Many people are feeling hurt, anger, disappointment, frustration, mistrust in a system that has not worked for everyone. My heart breaks for the loss of Jamar Clark's life and for the pain felt by everyone involved in this incident."

    Hodges said the shooting was still being investigated by the state as well as the U.S. Justice Department.

    Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said Ringgenberg and Schwarze were assigned to "nonenforcement duties."

    Harteau said the department was prepared for peaceful demonstrations but will "ensure public safety for every one -- that includes protesters, bystanders and police officers."

    The investigation included 122 Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reports, 1,370 pages of autopsy reports, 21 DNA reports and 97 Minneapolis Police Department supplemental reports, all of which Freeman said took him 31 hours to read.

    Freeman said he declined to present to the case to a grand jury so that his office could release all the reports related to the investigation. His office posted numerous investigative documents, photos and videos on its website.

    Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, said Ringgenberg and Schwarze anticipated the outcome of Freeman's investigation.

    "They knew that they had to do what they had to do that night," he said. "They felt terrible about it. It's a tragic thing to go through. Their families have been through hell."

    A scuffle turns deadly

    The reports demonstrated that Clark had attacked his girlfriend, interfered with paramedics attempting to transport her to the hospital and refused officers' demands to remove his hands from his pockets, Freeman said.

    Ringgenberg and Schwarze then took Clark to the ground in an attempt to place handcuffs on him, but during the scuffle, Ringgenberg landed on top of Clark, who then went for that officer's gun, the prosecutor said.

    According to Freeman, Ringgenberg said when he felt his gun move from his right hip to the small of his back, he reached back to the top of his gun and felt Clark's "whole" hand on the weapon.

    The officer told his partner, "He's got my gun," Freeman said.

    "Ringgenberg believed he was going to die ... because he had no control over his gun," Freeman said. "Ringgenberg felt that Clark didn't care what happened to him and remembered thinking that he didn't want his partner to die with his gun."

    'I'm ready to die'

    Schwarze dropped the handcuffs and took out his gun, according to the prosecutor. Schwarze told investigators he put the gun to the edge of Clark's mouth and said, "Let go or I'm gonna shoot you."

    Schwarze told investigators that Clark looked directly at him and said, "I'm ready to die." Schwarze said the "only thing I could think of to do was to save our lives and anyone else in the immediate area so I pulled the trigger," according to the prosecutor.

    The gun did not fire because the slide was partially pulled back, Freeman said. Schwarze heard Ringgenberg saying, "Shoot him."

    Schwarze pulled the trigger again and fired, the prosecutor said. Clark was shot about 61 seconds after the officers first confronted him.

    "At the time he was shot, Clark was attempting to gain control of Ringgenberg's firearm. Ringgenberg reasonably believed that if Clark had succeeded in removing his firearm from his holster, Clark would have shot both officers as well as exposing third parties to danger of injury by firearm," Freeman said.

    Conflicting claims

    Clark was shot on November 15. He died at a hospital a day later. His death led to widespread protests.

    Five people were wounded in November when gunfire erupted near a Minneapolis police precinct where activists were demonstrating. Elsewhere, protesters stopped traffic on an interstate and disrupted travelers trying to get into an airport.

    Several witnesses said Clark was restrained when a bullet struck him in the head. One witness told CNN he thought Clark was in handcuffs. Police and attorneys have disputed those allegations.

    Freeman addressed the witnesses' accounts during his Wednesday news conference, calling them conflicting. Of 20 witnesses, he said, two said Clark was not handcuffed, six said they were uncertain and 12 said he was handcuffed, though they disagreed on whether he was handcuffed with his hands in front of him, his hands behind him or only on his left hand.

    Freeman said none of the witnesses reported hearing Clark say he was ready to die.

    Forensic evidence further demonstrated that Clark had no wrist wounds that would have resulted from being handcuffed during the tussle, and blood found on the handcuffs suggests they were on the ground, not on Clark's wrists, when he was shot, Freeman said.

    Clark's death is the latest in a string of controversial police killings that include those of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Eric Garner in New York; and Freddie Gray in Baltimore.


    Jamar Clark death: No charges; protesters rally - CNN.com


  2. #2
    Senior Member European Knight's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    France
    Posts
    4,548

    Cool

    The Latest: Minneapolis protest moves to police precinct

    Mar 31, 12:28 AM EDT

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Latest on the decision to not charge Minneapolis officers in the death of Jamar Clark (all times local):

    11:15 p.m.
    Demonstrators protesting the decision not to charge two Minneapolis police officers in the killing of unarmed black man have made their way to a police precinct.

    About 200 people stood outside the 4th precinct late Wednesday night. The atmosphere was mostly peaceful, but several protesters burned an American flag on the sidewalk.

    Officers could be seen on the roof of the building, but police did not directly engage with protesters.

    The precinct was the site of an 18-day encampment after the November shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark.

    Later Wednesday, the group marched to the site of the shooting. The size of the crowd dwindled as the night went on.

    7:25 p.m.
    Hundreds of people have converged at the Hennepin County Government Center to protest the lack of charges against two Minneapolis officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black man in November.

    Some demonstrators initially gathered at the site of the Nov. 15 shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark in north Minneapolis. Others gathered at a park on the southeast side of downtown.

    The two groups marched through downtown and met at the government building, where earlier in the day a prosecutor announced that Officer Mark Ringgenberg and Officer Dustin Schwarze would not face criminal charges. Both officers are white.

    The demonstrators have been chanting as they marched and carrying signs that say "Justice for Jamar" and "Black Lives Matter."

    Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said the officers used necessary deadly force in a situation where they feared for their lives.

    8:15 a.m.
    A Minneapolis prosecutor is set to announce whether two police officers will be charged in the fatal shooting of a black man last November.

    Spokesman Chuck Laszewski says Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman plans to announce his decision in the death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

    Clark was shot Nov. 15 during what authorities called a struggle with Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze. But some people who say they saw the shooting have said Clark wasn't struggling and was handcuffed. He died a day later.

    Clark's shooting prompted protests in Minneapolis, including an 18-day encampment outside a north side police precinct.

    Freeman first planned to use a grand jury to decide on charges, but earlier this month announced he would make the decision himself.


    DesMoinesRegister.com | News From The Associated Press

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 12-28-2015, 03:46 PM
  2. Ferguson protesters desecrate USA flag at pro-police rally
    By Newmexican in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-17-2015, 09:40 AM
  3. Police Tell Conservative Rally to Quiet Down so Muslim Brotherhood Protesters Can
    By Newmexican in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-18-2013, 10:17 AM
  4. Pandemic Charges filed...
    By grandmasmad in forum Other Topics News and Issues
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 09-20-2009, 02:40 AM
  5. NC More charges filed against man accused of rape
    By Dixie in forum illegal immigration News Stories & Reports
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 05-18-2009, 09:07 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •