Black Man Shot by Minneapolis Police Dies; Dozens of Protesters Arrested
By MARK PETERS
Nov. 17, 2015 6:51 p.m. ET
Authorities said a black man shot by Minneapolis police over the weekend has died, as protests that have resulted in dozens of arrests continue.
In a statement Tuesday, Minnesota public-safety officials said Jamar Clark, 24 years old, died Monday evening after being taken to a local hospital following the shooting Sunday.
The Minneapolis Police Department said Mr. Clark was shot after getting into an altercation with two officers. The department hasn’t released the names of the officers, saying it will after interviews with the officers are completed.
The shooting investigation has been handed off by city police to the state public-safety department.
The shooting sparked protests that on Monday evening moved from a police precinct station near the location of the shooting to Interstate-94, temporarily shutting down one of the main arteries through the city. Protests continued at the precinct station Tuesday.
A Minnesota State Patrol spokeswoman said the demonstration on Monday involved more than 200 people, with officers arresting 42 people on misdemeanors. She said rocks and bottles were thrown, causing minor damage to police cars, and an officer was punched by a person who then fled. Demonstrators were charged with unlawful assembly and being a pedestrian on the freeway.
Minneapolis has become a flash point for Black Lives Matter, a national movement that grew out of last year’s fatal shooting of Michael Brown , an unarmed black 18-year-old man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo. In the past year, protesters have demonstrated at Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis, marched at the Minnesota State Fair and shut down sections of the Twin Cities’ light-rail system during the Minnesota Viking’s first home game, calling for police accountability and increased oversight.
Black Lives Matter Minneapolis has called for the release of any video of the shooting, the names of the officers involved and an independent investigation.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges responded Monday by sending a letter to the Justice Department requesting a federal civil-rights probe into the shooting. While Ms. Hodges in a statement said she has the utmost faith in state investigators, a federal probe “assists the interests of transparency and community confidence.”
Federal officials declined to comment Tuesday.
Public-safety department officials have gathered several videos related to the shooting, but none captures the incident in its entirety. The footage won’t be released while the investigation is ongoing because it could affect the integrity of the probe, a public-safety department spokeswoman said.
Police said two officers responded to a request by paramedics for help with an individual disrupting their ability to aid an assault victim. An altercation occurred between the officers and Mr. Clark, who was a suspect in the assault, which led to the shooting, according to police.
But Black Lives Matter Minneapolis in a statement said several witnesses have a different account of what happened and that the shooting wasn’t the fault of Mr. Clark.
Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the family of Mr. Clark is declining requests for comment at this time.
—Devlin Barrett contributed to this article.
Write to Mark Peters at mark.peters@wsj.com
Nov. 17, 2015 6:51 p.m. ET
Authorities said a black man shot by Minneapolis police over the weekend has died, as protests that have resulted in dozens of arrests continue.
In a statement Tuesday, Minnesota public-safety officials said Jamar Clark, 24 years old, died Monday evening after being taken to a local hospital following the shooting Sunday.
The Minneapolis Police Department said Mr. Clark was shot after getting into an altercation with two officers. The department hasn’t released the names of the officers, saying it will after interviews with the officers are completed.
The shooting investigation has been handed off by city police to the state public-safety department.
The shooting sparked protests that on Monday evening moved from a police precinct station near the location of the shooting to Interstate-94, temporarily shutting down one of the main arteries through the city. Protests continued at the precinct station Tuesday.
A Minnesota State Patrol spokeswoman said the demonstration on Monday involved more than 200 people, with officers arresting 42 people on misdemeanors. She said rocks and bottles were thrown, causing minor damage to police cars, and an officer was punched by a person who then fled. Demonstrators were charged with unlawful assembly and being a pedestrian on the freeway.
Minneapolis has become a flash point for Black Lives Matter, a national movement that grew out of last year’s fatal shooting of Michael Brown , an unarmed black 18-year-old man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo. In the past year, protesters have demonstrated at Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis, marched at the Minnesota State Fair and shut down sections of the Twin Cities’ light-rail system during the Minnesota Viking’s first home game, calling for police accountability and increased oversight.
Black Lives Matter Minneapolis has called for the release of any video of the shooting, the names of the officers involved and an independent investigation.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges responded Monday by sending a letter to the Justice Department requesting a federal civil-rights probe into the shooting. While Ms. Hodges in a statement said she has the utmost faith in state investigators, a federal probe “assists the interests of transparency and community confidence.”
Federal officials declined to comment Tuesday.
Public-safety department officials have gathered several videos related to the shooting, but none captures the incident in its entirety. The footage won’t be released while the investigation is ongoing because it could affect the integrity of the probe, a public-safety department spokeswoman said.
Police said two officers responded to a request by paramedics for help with an individual disrupting their ability to aid an assault victim. An altercation occurred between the officers and Mr. Clark, who was a suspect in the assault, which led to the shooting, according to police.
But Black Lives Matter Minneapolis in a statement said several witnesses have a different account of what happened and that the shooting wasn’t the fault of Mr. Clark.
Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the family of Mr. Clark is declining requests for comment at this time.
—Devlin Barrett contributed to this article.
Write to Mark Peters at mark.peters@wsj.com
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