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Protests Spark in Minneapolis After Black Man is Shot By Police

The event triggered an overnight encampment at the north Minneapolis police precinct close to the site of the shooting and demonstrations Sunday.

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The Star-Tribune reports that Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP, said that it was Clark who was “shot and killed” by police after the department declined to release his name to the public.

About 50 people were arrested here, the night of November 16, in a dramatic protest blocking Interstate 94, as the fight to get justice for Jamar Clark escalated. Police have said their preliminary investigation shows the man was not handcuffed, but the investigation is ongoing.

In the neighbourhood where the shooting occurred, many mistrust authorities’ account.

Betty Smith, a neighbor whose 24-year-old son was shot by the police in 2008, expressed her sympathy for Clark’s family.

“It’s not fair.” she said.

Schweigart says the northbound lanes of the highway were closed for about two and a half hours. Police say Flowers instigated their aggression.

Monday night, multiple news outlets reported Clark had been taken off life support and died, according to a family member.

Traffic is blocked. The state Transportation Department reports protesters are on foot on the main line of the freeway.

The ACLU-MN released a statement saying they are asking for “full transparency and accountability” moving forward, including a release of the video, naming of the officers involved and the launch of a full Department of Justice investigation. The group is also calling on Mayor Betsy Hodges to take action and call on a federal investigation into the shooting, instead of having the BCA investigate. Its leaders refused to participate in a community listening session called by Hodges at the Minneapolis Urban League, also on Plymouth Avenue N. Police say he was a suspect in a domestic assault and interfered with paramedics at the scene.

Nekelia Sharp, who lives across the street, Mr Clark was merely trying to talk to his girlfriend after their argument when he was handcuffed and then shot.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the shooting, and investigators are gathering evidence to determine exactly what happened in the moments leading up to shots being fired. Black Lives Matter protesters have since erected tents at the fourth precinct, vowing to occupy the station until the Elks Lodge video is released, the names of the officers involved are released, and there is an independent, federal investigation underway.

The incident has been turned over to the state BCA for investigation, said Harteau, who added that two officers were placed on standard administrative leave.

According to authorities, a man was shot during a physical altercation with police early Sunday morning. “At a few point during the struggle, an officer discharged his weapon striking the suspect”. They believe a BCA investigation may be impartial and are sticking to the story that Clark was handcuffed when he was shot. She wasn’t clear about where the cars were. Fifty-one people were arrested.

“We are still not going until we get that footage”, said Michael McDowell, a part of Black Lives Matter.

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KG Wilson, a peace activist who retired weeks ago after 11 years of building relationships between the community and the police department, said he’s hurt by the reaction he is seeing and disagrees with the protests.

Demonstrators block a portion of Interstate 94 Monday Nov. 16 2015 in Minneapolis. The mayor of Minneapolis on Monday asked for a federal civil rights investigation into the weekend shooting of a black man by a police officer during an apparent strugg