Dayton on police shooting

The NAACP said in its statement that members of the public should be able to see the video for themselves and draw their own conclusions, “rather than relying upon the perspective of one government official who is not a trained expert in this field”.

Since Minneapolis police officers fatally shot Jamar Clark on November 15, protesters have continuously staged protests outside the department’s 4th Precinct station and have demanded video footage of the incident. Authorities say Clark was shot during a struggle with police, but some people who say they saw the shooting allege Clark was handcuffed. “We’re here for Jamar”, one said, according to Habu.

State and federal investigators said they will not release surveillance footage from the scene until the investigation is concluded, over protesters’ objections.

“We need to know exactly what happened”, Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said. The protesters are demanding the release of all video footage which could shed light on the incident.

Dayton said the camera looked out the back door of the ambulance with the goal of recording what would occur in the back of the vehicle. But police union President Bob Kroll says two officers were helping paramedics respond to a domestic violence call when Clark grabbed the handle of one policeman’s holstered pistol. He would not say what kind of encounter it was. Police have not released any information on a possible suspect or suspects.

Minneapolis Police Department Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze were involved in the shooting, but it’s not clear who fired the fatal shot.

“When you have discretion in a tense and explosive situation you may not be intending to, but what you do unintentionally is say the word we’ve got something to hide”, Gemberling said. Some said they planned to stay and demonstrate despite the request from Clark’s family.

Authorities have said it wouldn’t be appropriate to release video from sources including an ambulance, a mobile police camera, public housing cameras and citizens’ cellphones because doing so could taint an investigation by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Releasing the footage would be “extremely detrimental to the investigation”, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said in a statement in association with the FBI and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. The actions have centered on the Fourth Precinct police station in north Minneapolis, close to where Monday night’s shooting is alleged to have taken place.

Clark’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, and Dayton said he’s not sure yet whether he will attend, the Star Tribune reports.

A federal criminal civil rights investigation is also under way, to determine whether police intentionally violated Clark’s civil rights through use of excessive force.

Despite cold weather, protesters remain outside the police 4th Precinct office. Tensions also cooled, after early last week there were frequent verbal and physical clashes with police.

No one was seriously injured in the shooting that happened about 10:40 p.m. Monday. A protester who gave his name as Big Don Carlito says demonstrations no longer have anything to do with the Clark family.