Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Wednesday that he will not be charging the officers involved in the Jamar Clark shooting, citing evidentiary support for the officers’ testimony and claiming it was “reasonable” for the officers to kill Clark in that situation.
According to Freeman the officers claim that after Clark resisted arrest they wrestled him to the ground. Officer Mark Ringgenberg ended up on top of Clark, and claimed Clark grabbed his gun and pressed it up against his back. Ringgenberg told his partner Clark had the gun. Officer Dustin Schwarze says he placed his own gun to Clark’s face. Clark allegedly said, “I am ready to die.” Schwarze pulled the trigger, the gun did not fire. He pulled the trigger again, killing Clark.
Evidence supports the testimony of the officers. Clark’s DNA was found on Ringgenberg’s holster and the grip of his gun. There was no evidence in the autopsy to support the claim that Clark was handcuffed.
Freeman then proceeded to show several video clips of the incident taken from different sources. During the viewing some audience members stated, “That was so violent! That was murder!” Afterwards several audience members shouted questions at Freeman. One woman stated to Freeman, “If the city burns, it’s on your hands.”
After the press conference Black Lives Matter spoke to the media. Mica Grimm with Black Lives Matter said, “If we cannot find justice here, we will find it in the streets.” Several members explained that the Minneapolis Police are not to be trusted and that there was “no justice for Jamar” shown today. Black Lives Matter Minneapolis has planned an event for 6pm tonight (March 30, 2016) at Elliot Park in Minneapolis.
Freeman says testimonies and the video footage in its entirety will be released later today, claiming there has never been this much transparency in a case of this nature before. The video was live streamed here.