Community members and Black Lives Matter activists had gathered for a ninth night of peaceful protest over the police-shooting death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark, camping outside a Minneapolis precinct, when they were joined by a group of familiar masked hecklers on Monday night.
Advertisement
Clark’s shooting comes at a time of heightened debate in the United States over police use of lethal force, especially against black people.
Hundreds of Black Lives Matter demonstrators and supporters occupy the street in front of the federal building on November 24 in Minneapolis, after marching from the Police Department’s Fourth Precinct.
Clark’s family released a statement early Tuesday morning calling for the planned protests to be canceled as a result of Monday night’s shooting, but there is still another protest scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. In Minneapolis, police have said Clark died in a struggle with police who were responding to a domestic disturbance. Police claim he was interfering with emergency responders who were treating the victim when he was shot.
Activists said Monday’s shooting has not shaken the group’s resolve.
On Tuesday, a Black Lives Matter spokesperson said the violence directed at protesters only strengthens the occupation.
“Even in the midst of protests and demonstrations, we will continue to have important dialogue and conversations to keep moving forward”, he said.
Mayor Betsy Hodges said authorities were “sparing no efforts to find the suspects and bring them to justice”. Three white men are suspected in the shooting.
“Officers and investigators worked non-stop throughout the night to develop suspects and leads” that yielded an arrest just after 11 a.m.in Bloomington, just south of Minneapolis, the police statement said of the 23-year-old’s arrest. He was shot in the head, officials have said.
“One of the cops had his knee in his back, and the other cop was kind of straddling him in an awkward type position”, barber shop owner Teto Wilson said.
Grimm said concerns were brought up to police, but protesters felt the threats were not being taken seriously.
One protester said demonstrations no longer have anything to do with the Clark family.
People living on the north side of Minneapolis have watched a real-life drama unfolding right in their backyard.
The protesters also modified the slogan “Hands up, don’t shoot!” that originated after the police killing of Black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, previous year to “Handcuffs, don’t shoot”.
The demonstrators were protesting at a block close to the police station where an unarmed Jamar Clark was fatally shot by police.
Witness Jie Wronski-Riley, 19, told NBC News via telephone that a group of three men was “yelling and being aggressive and it was obvious they were here to antagonize and confront people”. No one was in custody, and police were asking anyone with information to come forward.
The statement says the department has additional uniformed officers in the area for extra security.
The injured demonstrators were taken to nearby hospitals, though none of them were critically injured.
Advertisement
In light of events occurring across the country, we know that one of the City’s first priorities is ensuring the public safety of all.
