Activists, who said Jamar Clark was unarmed and handcuffed when he
was shot in the head on Sunday, blocked the entrance of a police
precinct following the shooting and briefly flooded an interstate
late on Monday, demanding that authorities release video of the
incident. Police said he was not handcuffed.
"I have asked for this because we need all the tools we have
available to us... a healthy investigative process is best for
everyone, the family, the officers and the community," Hodges said.
At least 50 people were arrested after blocking a section of the
northbound Interstate 94 through Minneapolis during a protest over
Clark's shooting, police said. Demonstrators held signs including
"Handcuffs, Don't Shoot," KMSP-TV reported.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was continuing its own
investigation and will hand over the results to prosecutors.
Clark was shot in the head and was "brain dead" according to family
members cited in local media. Reuters was not able to independently
confirm Clark's condition and officials said only that it was
"unchanged."
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau, who spoke at a news
conference with Mayor Hodges, said that the names of two police
officers involved would not be released yet.
Deaths of unarmed black men and women at the hands of police over
the past year have fueled criticism over the treatment of minorities
by police in the United States and rekindled a national civil rights
movement under the banner Black Lives Matter.
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Police said that at about 12:45 a.m. on Sunday, they responded to a
report of an assault and shot a man during a struggle after he
confronted paramedics and disrupted their ability to give aid.
The suspect was not in handcuffs during the physical altercation and
was taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center, police
said.
Witnesses said Clark was handcuffed when he was shot in the head and
his body was removed quickly from the scene, according to a Black
Lives Matter Minneapolis statement.
The Minneapolis National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People said Clark "was murdered, execution style" by police.
Up to 20 witnesses said he was dead at the scene and his body was
"lifeless," Minneapolis NAACP spokeswoman Raeisha Williams said.
(Reporting by Todd Melby in Minneapolis, Suzannah Gonzales and Fiona
Ortiz in Chicago, and Victoria Cavaliere in Los Angeles; Writing by
Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Sandra Maler and
Michael Perry)
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