Marchers vow to pressure city
'until change is here'
By Mary Lynn Smith and Ricardo
Lopez Star Tribune staff writers
Peaceful protesters took to the
streets of Minneapolis on Wednesday in anguish and anger over Hennepin County
Attorney Mike Freeman’s decision not to charge two police officers for last
fall’s shooting death of Jamar Clark.
Several hundred protesters
converged on the Hennepin County Government Center in the evening after
marching from Elliot Park, just south of downtown, and from north Minneapolis,
where Clark was fatally shot Nov. 15 in the 1600 block of Plymouth Avenue N.
They came chanting, “No justice, no peace! Prosecute the police!” They lowered
their heads for moments of silence, raised their fists and said they remain
committed to demanding justice.
“We won’t stop until change is
here,” Pastor Carmen Means told the crowd.
Charles Caine, president and
executive director of Brothers Empowered and an activist with Black Lives
Matter, said the rallies were about keeping the movement alive. “It’s about
showing that the people aren’t just going to die,” he said. “This isn’t going
to be the last fight we’re going to have to fight.”
Maret Banks of St. Paul walked
among the activists burning copal incense in a shell to bless the crowd. It’s a
tradition in Mexican culture to prepare for battle, she said. “I’m mad, but I
have to balance the anger with cleansing,” said Banks, 24. “We can’t just have
a verdict go uncontested.”
After the downtown rally, about
half the protesters walked back to the North Side site of Clark’s shooting for
a late-night gathering. It, too, was peaceful, though about 10:30 p.m. the tone
turned angrier, with some protesters swarming toward the front door of the
Fourth Precinct headquarters and burning a U.S. flag that bore the names of
black men killed by police — an action that drew critical comments from some
other protesters.
Officers in riot gear watched
from the roof and windows but did not engage the protesters. Just after 11 p.m.,
things began to wind down, with most people leaving.
Earlier, Mel Reeves, a member of
Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, said protests will continue to
demand that officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze be prosecuted. Reeves
called Freeman’s account “a great fairy tale.”
He added: “It doesn’t line up
with anything that witnesses told us. None of the witnesses saw a struggle for
a gun. … What they told us today is that Minneapolis police are above the law.
We won’t quit until we get justice.”
Ron Edwards, a longtime
Minneapolis civil rights activist, argued that there could have been a
different outcome if a grand jury had made the charging decision. He said it
was a mistake for Black Lives Matter to oppose taking the case to a grand jury,
where he believes there could have been a better chance for an indictment of
police officers.
Charles Samuelson, executive
director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, praised the
release of evidence considered by the Hennepin County attorney’s office, saying
the increased transparency is welcome. Samuelson, however, expressed
consternation at the timeline presented by Freeman.
“Jamar Clark was shot within 61
seconds of officers arriving on the scene,” he said. “It is unsettling that he
was shot so quickly. Officers should have allowed more time to address the
situation fully.”
Standing amid protesters, Pastor
Brian Herron heard and felt their pain as they demanded police reform. “They
are tired and fed up,” he said. “Right now, we got to get through this night”
before thinking about what’s next, he said.
A plea for peace and healing
Wednesday afternoon, Minneapolis
Mayor Betsy Hodges issued a joint statement with Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé
Harteau calling for demonstrators to be peaceful.
“Many people are feeling hurt,
anger, disappointment, frustration,” Hodges said. “There is a tear that has
ripped through our community, one we cannot sew back up. And together as a city
and a people, we can walk through this tear to build what we all want — a city
that is safe and equitable for everyone.”
Said Harteau. “Our highest
priority will be keeping everyone — demonstrators, the public and police
officers — safe as the city reacts to this decision.”
Clark supporters attended the
hourlong news conference where Freeman showed videos and cited DNA, forensic
evidence and statements from the officers that he said proved Clark had a hand
on one officer’s gun during a struggle and was not handcuffed when shot.
Officers said that during the brief struggle, Clark reached for one of their
guns and said, “I’m ready to die.”
Cameron Clark doesn’t believe his
cousin Jamar would have said that. “And I know my cousin wouldn’t grab no gun,”
he said.
“We’re going to have to do
something because we can’t just let this drop and just say, ‘That’s another
brother gone.’ We have to get justice,” he said.
Freeman acknowledged that there
were contradictory eyewitness accounts, but said forensic evidence and a lack
of bruising on Clark’s wrists supported the officers’ versions.
Once Freeman offered to take
questions, Clark supporters peppered him with questions and statements.
Minneapolis NAACP President
Nekima Levy-Pounds said police are pushing “propaganda” and did not give enough
credence to eyewitness accounts.
“We’re not going to tolerate
violence against nonviolent peaceful protesters in our community,” she said.
“We’re not going to tolerate officers who continue to engage in excessive
force. And we’re not going to tolerate a city that has settled $20 million in
excessive-force payouts over the last decade.”
“We’re going to stand forward and
rise for justice. We’re going to take to the streets. And we are going to fight
until we get what we came for, which at the end of the day is freedom, justice
and equality.”
Staff writers also contributing
to this report: Jennifer Brooks, Beatrice Dupuy, Randy Furst, Andy Mannix,
Beena Raghavendran, Liz Sawyer, Chao Xiong and Karen Zamora, as well as two
University of Minnesota students on assignment for the Star Tribune, Barry
Lytton and Zoë Peterson.
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