|
| Protesters hang around the warming fire, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, at the Black Lives Matter encampment outside the Minneapolis Police Department's Fourth Precinct in Minneapolis. The fatal shooting of Jamar Clark, an unarmed black man by a Minneapolis police officer, has pushed racial tensions in the city's small but concentrated minority community to the fore, with the police precinct besieged by the makeshift encampment and many protesters. |
MINNEAPOLIS
(AP) -- The fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a
Minneapolis police officer has prompted unrest in the city as the
community demands answers, while authorities say they can't provide
additional details because of the ongoing investigation.
Jamar
Clark, 24, was shot in the head Sunday during a struggle with two
police officers. Police said Clark was a suspect in an assault and was
interfering with paramedics trying to treat the victim. But some who say
they saw the shooting claim Clark was not struggling, and was
handcuffed at the time.
Here's a look at the questions that remain and events surrounding Clark's shooting:
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT
Authorities
aren't saying exactly what happened shortly after midnight Sunday, but
they say their initial investigation shows Clark was a suspect in an
assault and was disrupting paramedics who were trying to help the
victim. Police say they struggled with Clark, and he was shot.
People
who claim they saw the shooting say Clark was handcuffed and wasn't
struggling. The state agency that's investigating the shooting, the
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said it's investigating whether Clark
was restrained. They say handcuffs were at the scene but it isn't clear
whether they were on Clark or had just fallen at the scene.
VIDEO OF THE SHOOTING
Protesters who have camped out at the area police station are demanding that police release video of the shooting.
The
BCA says investigators have video from several sources, including an
ambulance, a mobile police camera stationed in the area, public housing
cameras and citizens' cellphones. But BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said
none of the videos captured the entire incident and none will be
released while the investigation is ongoing to avoid possibly tainting
it.
The police officers, Mark Ringgenberg and
Dustin Schwarze, were not wearing body cameras, and Evans said there is
no video from police squad cars. Authorities are still asking anyone
with video to provide it to investigators.
COMMUNITY OUTCRY
Community
members have been protesting since Sunday's shooting, with hundreds
taking to the interstate on Monday night - prompting 42 arrests - and a
small group camped out at the local police precinct. Tensions escalated
Wednesday night as a crowd outside the precinct grew. At one point
police used a chemical irritant to control the crowd. Police said a
chemical spray was also directed at officers. On Thursday, a Minnesota
congressman, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, tweeted a photo of his son at the
protest scene with his hands up and an officer with a gun in the
background, calling it "agonizing for me to see."
Police
later reported that several officers sustained minor injuries from
rocks and water bottles that were thrown and said several squad cars
were damaged.
CALLS FOR RESTRAINT
Leaders
of the NAACP appealed to Minneapolis police on Thursday to exercise
restraint in dealing with protesters. Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of
the local NAACP, also asked the community to exercise restraint.
Meanwhile,
the NACCP was organizing a candlelight vigil and march for Friday
evening. Stephen Green, national director of the NAACP's youth and
college division, plans to attend.
