We knew it wouldn’t be long before Minneapolis police forced the Black Lives Matter protesters off their property, where they had set up an encampment Sunday after officers shot a 24-year-old unarmed man who witnesses say was handcuffed.
And we shouldn’t be surprised they are now claiming Jamar Clark went for the officer’s gun, which is why they had to shoot him.
That is a routine claim by cops who kill, even though we don’t remember ever seeing video evidence of anybody actually doing this.
The fact that they waited three days to announce this detail indicates they probably reviewed video footage from surveillance and dash cams and the videos are inconclusive.
If Clark did go for the cop’s gun, many will never believe that claim unless there is video evidence.
Police say they have video footage, have not described what it shows, only saying it’s going to take several months before they can release it to the public.
There’s a rare chance that somebody may have recorded the shooting because there was a significant amount of people watching but nothing has emerged so far except videos recorded immediately after the shooting, showing a very angry crowd, accusing police for shooting a non-resistant, handcuffed man.
Today’s removal of the activists from in front of Precinct 4 seemed to go smoothly judging by the initial video, showing activists raising their arms in compliance rather than linking arms as we have seen protesters do in the past.
Journalists were even in the streets shooting video and were left alone unlike what took place Monday on the interstate when state troopers arrested a pair of journalists.
According to KARE 11:
After three days of quietly enduring the so-called “occupation” of their fourth precinct, Minneapolis Police stormed the front of the building early Wednesday afternoon, removing protesters from their encampment.
The scene was quiet until approximately 1:30 p.m., when a number of officers stormed in and created a human chain between members of Black Lives Matter and the fourth precinct building.
Police personnel removed tents and other equipment belonging to demonstrators, moving them away from the building in the process. The first line of officers was quickly followed by SWAT teams that jumped out of vans dressed in camouflage.
Because camouflage, of course, makes them blend in so well with their urban surroundings.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released the names of the cops who were involved in Clark’s shooting: Mark Ringgenberg, 30, who has been a police officer for seven years, including 13 months with Minneapolis; and Dustin Schwarze, 28, who also has been a police officer for seven years, including 13 months with Minneapolis.
Police have not released disciplinary records of the officers, but we shouldn’t expect much considering that the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported in 2013 that out of 439 citizen complaints against officers, not a single cop was disciplined.
UPDATE: The protesters have returned to the police precinct. Live stream is here.
The post Minneapolis Police Union Head Claims Jamar Clark Went for Cop’s Gun (Updated) appeared first on PINAC.