Many activists said they are incredulous at the gulf between the two narratives, and even more so at the idea that the police narrative is to be most trusted.
Advertisement
Scarsella, Gustavsson and Backman are white, while Macey is Asian, police said.
“As a result of the continuing investigation, the Hennepin County Attorney’s office asked for, and a Hennepin County District Court judge has granted an extension until noon Monday before the county attorney’s office has to make a charging decision”, Freeman reported in a news release.
They had been conducting a sit-in at Minneapolis’ 4th Precinct station, where demonstrators had gathered for days to protest the November 15 shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark.
The five victims, all black men aged 19 to 43, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
This story has been corrected to correct racial descriptions of the men in custody.
Minneapolis police used chemical irritants to disperse rioters during protests against Clark’s killing last week.
The speaker who generated the first major burst of applause at Jamar Clark’s home-going service turned out to be the only one unscheduled.
According to police, Clark was shot after he struggled with officers. An attendee estimated that hundreds of people attended. “Your death is not in vain”.
Steven Belton, interim president of the Minneapolis Urban League, echoed those sentiments on Wednesday, saying protesters had achieved most of what they wanted, including the federal investigation and the names of the officers involved.
Howell told mourners during Wednesday’s funeral that what’s needed now is a special state legislative session to address the needs of Minnesota’s minority community. “Jamar, your life did and does have objective”, said Bishop Richard D. Howell Jr., a bishop at the Shiloh Temple.
But church elders also frequently mixed in messages of a “need for justice” for Clark’s death. The story of Tuesday night, they say, was not that protesters managed to remain peaceful, but that they managed not to retaliate against continued police provocation.
A line of protesters stretched down the street with their fists raised in the air in solidarity as the funeral procession passed the 4th Precinct.
Protesters have demanded investigators release video of the Clark shooting, and Ali noted it took more than a year before the city of Chicago on Tuesday released video of the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old.
Grimm said protesters had been threatened by one group online and had been working with hackers to figure out the group’s plans. Some community leaders called for peace on the day of the funeral, as family members also asked for no protests.
Eddie Sutton, brother of Jamar Clark, urged the protesters to end their encampment because he was concerned about their safety. On Monday night, five protesters were shot near the Black Lives Matter demonstration.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges has requested a federal human rights investigation into the shooting from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Demonstrators were camped outside the police station following the death of Clark.
Attempts by Reuters to reach family members of the men were not successful.
Advertisement
Protesters near the front of the march carried banners that said “We must love each other and support each other” and “We have nothing to lose but our chains”.
