It’s been more than 24 hours since Minneapolis police shot Jamar Clark and there is still no official word on whether he is alive or dead.
And there is still no evidence on whether or not he was handcuffed when police shot him.
And there is still no confirmation as to whether or not he is even the suspect.
But now there is a growing horde of protesters growing angrier by the minute as police continue to stonewall them.
Clark, 24, was last seen being lifted into an ambulance and transported to a local hospital.
His family says he was shot “in the head, execution style.”
Witnesses say he was “lifeless” when they placed him in the ambulance.
But police say he is alive and being treated at the hospital.
However, a doctor told the family he is “brain dead.”
Minneapolis police said at about 1 a.m. Sunday they were responding a call for domestic assault where the victim was being treated by paramedics, who said the suspect returned and began interfering with their duties.
They said they tried to calm the man down, but that led to a struggle and next thing they knew, he was shot, skipping out on the important details as police tend to do.
Several witnesses say he was handcuffed and he was calm, not resisting, when a cop fired a gun.
A nearby surveillance camera may have captured the shooting but police are not saying anything about that.
This camera more than likely caught the shooting of #JamarClark. Building owners say BCA told them not to talk. pic.twitter.com/PeNHEV2n9y
— Sam Richards (@MinneapoliSam) November 15, 2015
And now the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state’s main law enforcement agency, has stepped in to investigate.
Meanwhile, a group of protesters marched from the spot of the shooting to the Minneapolis Police 4th Precinct and are occupying a small lobby area near the front entrance as of Monday morning.
These protesters want answers and apologies. And we know cops don’t like providing either.
But now they will try to refer all questions and demands to the state agency. And as long as Clark’s heart continues to beat despite him being brain dead, they can keep claiming he is alive and recovering.
However, it does not appear as if the protesters are going to be going away.
#justice4jamar. Retweet & share w/ the world. Join us as we demand justice be given to #jamarclark. We march @ 3pm pic.twitter.com/xCDD1p8JqO — Minneapolis NAACP (@NAACPmpls) November 15, 2015
According to the Associated Press:
Jason Sole, chair of the Minneapolis NAACP’s criminal justice committee, said many black residents of north Minneapolis are upset.
“We have been saying for a significant amount of time that Minneapolis is one bullet away from Ferguson,” he said referring to the shooting by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri last year of black 18-year-old Michael Brown, which sparked nationwide protests. “That bullet was fired last night. We want justice immediately,” Sole told Minnesota Public Radio News.
The shooting happened after police said they were called to north Minneapolis at about 12:45 a.m. Sunday for a report of an assault. When they arrived, the man had returned and was interfering with paramedics who were assisting the victim, police said. Officers tried to calm him, but there was a struggle.
At some point, an officer fired at least once, hitting the man, police said. Witnesses told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that there was a big crowd at the scene, and bystanders became agitated as police pushed them back. Some witnesses said police used a chemical irritant on the crowd.
Tensions have long run high between the mostly white Minneapolis Police Department and the city’s black residents, which make up 17 percent of the population.
So when an activist says they are “one bullet away from Ferguson,” it should not be taken lightly.
This group of about 20 people say they will stay here in front of the police station “as long as it takes” pic.twitter.com/NhNzQ6k7PD
— Lou Raguse (@LouRaguse) November 15, 2015
The city says it has made efforts to hire more black officers but they just are not that interested.
In 2007, a group of five veteran black officers sued the department, claiming they were passed up for promotions, stripped of overtime and written up unjustly, including when one of the officers publicly corrected a fellow officer’s lie.
According to a 2007 MPR article:
The most recent allegation of discrimination involves Sgt. Charlie Adams. Last week, Adams was accused of insubordination after he publicly spoke out against statements made by his commanding officer.
The incident occurred during the investigation into the killing of bicyclist Mark Loesch. Homicide unit commander Lt. Amelia Huffman announced that one of the suspects in the killing told investigators the victim was looking to buy marijuana just before he was killed.
Adams spoke out and said there was no evidence that the victim had been looking for drugs, and he apologized to Loesch’s family for the statements made by Huffman.
The complaint alleges that while Adams’ white partner made the same statements, only Adams received a punitive transfer out of the homicide division.
The lawsuit not only resulted in a $740,000 settlement for the five officers, but it proved to us that this is a department that cannot be trusted to tell the truth.
Be sure to click on the video in this story where one witness says he was handcuffed and slammed to the ground.
“He never resisted, he never got out of line with them. When they cuffed him, they cuffed him hand in hand and they slammed that man down. One had his knee in his back and the other one was standing there.
And that boy, he looked up, the only thing he could say was ‘F U… ‘F U,’ and there was the bullet.”
Check out the video below of the moments right after the shooting. The video below is audio recording of the dispatch conversation about shots fired and the growing crowd of angry protesters.
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