State officials on Wednesday identified the two Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man that has sparked protests and dozens of arrests.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said Minneapolis Police Department Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze were involved in the shooting of Jamar Clark, 24, early Sunday. Both men, on administrative leave during an investigation of the incident, have been police officers for seven years, including 13 months with the city.
Attempts to reach the officers for comment were unsuccessful, and the union representing city police officers could not be reached immediately.
Community activists have said Clark was unarmed and handcuffed when he was shot shortly after midnight on Sunday. Officials confirmed Clark was unarmed but were still investigating whether he was handcuffed.
The deaths of unarmed black people at the hands of police in the United States over the past several years have fueled protests nationwide and rekindled a national civil rights movement, including the creation of a group called Black Lives Matter.
Clark was taken off life support on Monday evening, his family told local media. On Tuesday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said Clark had died from a gunshot wound to the head at 9:25 p.m. CST Monday at the Hennepin County Medical Center.
Officials with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), a unit of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, have said it will give the results of its investigation to prosecutors in two to four months. A federal civil rights investigation is also underway.
Late Monday, activists blocked the entrance of a police precinct following the shooting and marched to an Interstate highway, demanding authorities release video of the shooting. At least 50 people were arrested after blocking a section of Interstate 94 that runs through Minneapolis.
Police officers had responded to a request for assistance from paramedics who reported that an individual was disrupting their ability to help an assault victim.
The BCA said Clark was a suspect in the assault and that there was an altercation between him and the officers before one of them shot him.
(Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee, Writing by Ben Klayman; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/18/us-minnesota-shooting-idUSKCN0T72HR20151118
“… it will give the results of its investigation to prosecutors in two to four months.”
They’d already have it, had that been a stinking pig that was killed.
“Community activists have said Clark was unarmed and handcuffed when he was shot…”
A pig’s FAVORITE target.
“The BCA said Clark was a suspect in the assault and that there was an altercation between him and the officers before one of them shot him.”
“They also said that artificial sweeteners were safe, WMDs were in Iraq and Anna Nicole married for love.”
That they did.