|
 Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said there have
been "so many false narratives spun by the Minneapolis Police
Department as to what has happened."
"Enough is enough," she told about 75 protesters and members of the
media at a news conference outside the police precinct near where
Jamar Clark, 24, was shot early Sunday.
Clark is the latest in a series of unarmed black people to be killed
at the hands of police in the United States in the past several
years, fueling protests nationwide.
Community activists have said Clark was unarmed and claim he was
handcuffed when he was shot shortly during an altercation with two
police officers.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety identified
the officers involved but did not reveal their races. Both are on
administrative leave during the investigation.
 "We're demanding release of the tapes," Levy-Pounds said. "We're
demanding reform of the police department and we are demanding
justice for Jamar Clark right now."
Authorities have said there was no video of the shooting from police
dashboard or body cameras, but investigators are reviewing video
from business and security cameras in the area.
They also are checking witnesses' cell phones but said none of those
videos captured the entire incident.
Bob Kroll, president of the union representing Minneapolis police
officers, said at a Thursday news conference that Clark had grabbed
one of the officers' guns during the melee, although the weapon
remained in its holster.
Kroll has previously said that Clark was not handcuffed during the
struggle.
"This event should have been a peaceful encounter. It was the
actions and choices only of Mr. Clark alone that determined its
outcome," he said. "The officers’ actions are going to prove to be
justified."
[to top of second column] |
Frederic Bruno, an attorney representing one of the officers
involved in the incident, said in a written statement that Clark had
prior convictions for robbery and making criminal threats.
PROTEST CAMP ERECTED
Protesters have set up a camp, including more than 12 tents and half
a dozen campfires, in front of the police precinct building near the
shooting site in north Minneapolis. A sign near the building reads
"Justice4Jamar."
About 200 demonstrators on Thursday were chanting, singing and
holding signs near the building, while several officers, in their
regular uniforms, watched from the front of the precinct.
Tensions rose later in the evening, when several protesters spray
painted on the side of the building and police fired rubber bullets
at a small group.
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension, which is investigating Clark's death, has said Clark
was unarmed and the BCA was still trying to determine whether he was
handcuffed.
According to the BCA, the police officers had responded to a request
for assistance from paramedics who reported that someone was
interfering as they tried to help an assault victim.
The BCA said Clark, who died on Monday night at a hospital, was a
suspect in the assault and had an altercation with the officers
before one of them shot him.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; Writing by Ben Klayman and Dan
Whitcomb; Editing by Bill Trott, Cynthia Osterman, Victoria
Cavaliere)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
