The shooting has led to protests in the mid-western city, with police and demonstrators using irritant spray against each other on Wednesday night.
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In the case of Lee, a 19-year-old son of Laotian immigrants, the officer who shot and killed him in north Minneapolis said he feared for his life.
Tensions increased in the afternoon when police moved to clear protesters out of the vestibule of the Fourth Precinct station where several had been sleeping since Sunday’s shooting. Ringgenberg and Schwarze, who have both been officers for seven years and with the Minneapolis department for 13 months, are on administrative leave from their police duties.
About 20 officers, a few wearing riot gear or dressed in fatigues, watched stoically from behind barricades police had set up.
The protestors said they plan to stay vocal and vigilant until videos of the shooting are released.
Clark’s family wants videos allegedly showing the shooting to be released to the public.
Clark was taken off life support on Monday evening at a local hospital. Police say Clark was involved in an assault of his girlfriend and that he was hindering emergency responders from tending to her before his altercation with officers began.
State law makes data collected by the law enforcement for an active criminal investigation private.
Ringgenberg joined the Minneapolis force in September 2014 after 2[1/2] years with the Maple Grove Police Department. He also was a community service officer with the Brooklyn Park Police Department for two years, a Mall of America security guard for a month and a member of the Champlin Police Department’s explorer program for almost three years.
Mayor Betsy Hodges announced the city had asked the federal Department of Justice for a federal civil rights investigation, which will occur in concurrence with the state’s BCA investigation. The BCA, which is investigating Clark’s death, met with the officers Tuesday night.
A few community members allege that Clarke was handcuffed when he was shot, which police dispute.
A few people who say they saw the shooting claim Clark wasn’t struggling and was handcuffed.
Kroll says he hopes people who are making the handcuff allegations give statements to the BCA, and that they are charged with a crime if the statements turn out to be false.
A key point at the center of the investigation is whether Clark was in handcuffs when he was shot.
‘African-American males feel like they are targeted by police because, frankly, they are, ‘ Samuelson said.
There apparently were no serious injuries and police reported one person was cited for throwing something at officers and released.
“I’d rather be pushed than have someone push a police officer”, McDowell said.
Protesters shouted at police Wednesday as officers pulled down an awning at the site.
“Everything that happened to him, he did not deserve”, said Burns, backed by others in her family.
Police also sent a tweet stating officers were continuing to look for a suspect with a bandaged hand who admitted running from the police and being hit.
Clark was suspected of assaulting a woman, and after paramedics arrived to treat her, he returned to the scene and interfered with their efforts, according to the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which has taken over the investigation.
Both officers have been interviewed by officials with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Earlier this week, hundreds blocked Interstate 94-West, demanding that video footage of the incident be made public.
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“The young man was just laying there; he was not resisting arrest”, barber shop owner Teto Wilson, who witnessed the incident, said in a statement released through the Minneapolis NAACP.
