After about an hour, protesters started marching back to north Minneapolis to gather at the site of Jamar Clark’s death, where a small memorial sits around a telephone pole.
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When Ringgenberg and Schwarze arrived, they ordered Clark to remove his hands from his pockets to make sure he did not have a gun.
Following the shooting Schwarze and Riggenberg were placed on “non-enforcement” duties.
She said she knew this would be the outcome and she doesn’t believe her son was “ready to die” as police reported he said before he was shot. “Accordingly, the head of the county attorney’s office has concluded criminal charges are not warranted”.
“This decision to decline charges does not absolve our broken criminal justice system”, he said.
A fellow officer shot him, even though Parks’ wife was there and telling them her husband didn’t have a hand on the gun.
“Today is a hard day for everyone in the city of Minneapolis”, she told reporters.
But Freeman said forensic evidence didn’t support witness statements that Clark was handcuffed he had no bruising or injuries on his wrists consistent with being handcuffed and his DNA was not found on the inside of the handcuffs that were on the ground nearby.
Freeman says the evidence shows Clark wasn’t handcuffed and had his hands on Ringgenberg’s gun when he was shot by Schwarze.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Freeman recounted the night of November 15. The prosecutor shortly thereafter left the conference.
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau promised her officers would prioritize safety and “exercise restraint” during protests. In previous cases where a black man has been shot by white police officers, the DOJ has stepped in to investigate possible Civil Rights violations simply because of the race of the parties involved. Police were called to the scene because Clark had been identified as a suspect in a domestic assault and was interfering with paramedics’ efforts to treat the victim. Schwarze said he dropped his handcuffs, put his gun to the edge of Clark’s mouth and warned him to let go or he would shoot. In a panic, he said he shouted to Schwarze that Clark had his gun. When he refused, officers tried unsuccessfully to handcuff him.
Jamar Clark, 24, was lethally shot in the head and killed after an altercation with police officers.
“I feel like the story is being made up, and it’s all lies”. They blasted music and chants on megaphones, barricaded the front doors of the police station with trash cans, and one group set an American flag on fire.
Mayor Hodges also told the citizens of Minneapolis that the Jamar Clark shooting is still under investigation by the state and the federal government via the United States Justice Department. Police violence was common place during the occupation with pepper spray being used against demonstrators.
Freeman painstakingly described his decision, starting with police reports and witnesses. In the struggle that followed the officer fired the weapon, killing Clark. Police threatened to shoot him repeatedly if he did not comply. As they struggled on the ground, Clark grabbed the officer’s holstered gun, the officer told investigators. “Do you understand?” Shaver responded, “No, please don’t shoot me”. Shaver’s widow, Laney Sweet, has been coerced into silence and has been asked by county prosecutors not to speak out to the media.
According to Minnesota law, the use of deadly force by an officer is considered justified “to protect the peace officer or another from apparent death or great bodily harm”. Clark’s adoptive parents, James and Wilma Clark, have also retained an attorney.
Shaver was told to crawl on all fours toward the officers. “I had no control over my gun”.
According to the police report, “It appeared his shorts had fallen partially down his legs at that point” prompting Shaver to reach for his waist.
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Freeman said he wishes the events of that night had played out differently. When it finally was made public and a prosecutor announced the officers wouldn’t be charged, they were enraged. At most, Officer Brailsford would serve 80 percent of a 3.75 year jail sentence.
