In his strongest comments yet on the case, Dayton said Saturday that he plans to ask for a federal investigation of any civil rights violations in the police’s response to the protests.
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Workers have painted over anti-police graffiti on a Minneapolis police station where protesters have gathered for days over the death of a black man.
Minneapolis’ top cop strongly defended the conduct of her officers during the weeklong protests over the police killing of Jamar Clark, after Gov. Mark Dayton on Saturday said he would urge federal prosecutors to investigate “any matters…that may have violated the civil rights of any Minnesota citizens”. However, Minnesota BCA superintendent Drew Evans told reporters that none of the footage captures the entire shooting, and video won’t be released until the investigation is complete.
When an elderly neighbor using a cane came out to plead for quiet at what she said was her bedtime, the crowd turned down the volume.
State investigators are examining surveillance and witness videos that recorded snippets of the incident, “none of which captured the event in its entirety”, said Evans, who said he would not release any video in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. “It doesn’t show anything that would be any confirmation of one point of view or another”.
Even with nighttime temperatures falling into the teens, protesters are refusing to remove their tents from the front lawn of a police station here in North Minneapolis. A few witnesses have contended Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, which police deny. In the face of these protests, police eventually revealed the names of the two officers under investigation in the incident, but declined to announce the race of the officers. “We also received multiple complaints from residents who were unable to gain entry to speak with our officers and investigators”.
McKnight says the service will start at noon and last an hour.
McKnight added that Clark’s family hopes there are no rallies on the day of the funeral.
Clark, 24, was shot by police at 12:45 a.m. on Sunday, November 15 outside of an apartment on the 1600 block of Plymouth Avenue N. Officers were responding to a request for assistance from paramedics who reported that Jamar Clark was disrupting their ability to aid an assault victim. McDonald had a knife, the authorities say, and earlier punctured a squad car’s tire with it and refused to drop it. Authorities say the 24-year-old Clark was shot during a struggle with police, but a few people who says they saw the shooting allege Clark was handcuffed.
UPDATE: This video could cast a few doubt on the police claim that cops were, themselves, hit with pepperspray by “people who are not officers”. We are committed to having representatives present and on the ground throughout the length of the occupation and we encourage continued food donations, support, and community presence in solidarity with a Northside community that is in pain and has suffered for far too long under the weight of oppression.
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Elder says there were no arrests Sunday and no reports of property damage. “I am the governor of the state of Minnesota and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reports to me….”
