MINNEAPOLIS -- The two Minneapolis police officers involved in last November’s shooting of Jamar Clark will not be disciplined, Police Chief Janee Harteau said at a Friday, Oct. 21 press conference.
The decision comes after a months-long internal investigation and is in line federal and state investigations of officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze and their actions on Nov. 15, 2015, when the 24-year-old black man was shot and killed.
“Their actions have been put under a microscope,” Harteau said. “They have been subject to both state and federal investigations and have been reviewed by two of the top prosecutors in the region. … The investigative standards were extremely high in both the (Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) and the MPD (Minneapolis Police Department) investigation, and I have the utmost confidence in their findings.”
The announcement was delayed until police officials had the chance to meet with Clark’s family, Harteau said.
“As a mother, I cannot imagine such a loss as no parent should ever have to bury their child,” she said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Harteau and Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges planned to host an open conference call to speak with the public about the incident.
Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the NAACP’s Minneapolis chapter, expressed her disappointment on Facebook for the internal investigation’s result.
“I feel sad for our city right now and the ease with which our city and government officials justify murder of an unarmed citizen at the hands of police,” she wrote Friday afternoon. “My heart goes out to the family of (Jamar Clark) for having to relive this nightmare once again. How far have we fallen as a society that we continue to allow this type of thing to happen again and again and again? God help us all and please open our hearts, eyes, and minds to the truth of these injustices.”
The officers responded to a call for backup by paramedics at an apartment building three blocks from Minneapolis’ Fourth Precinct station shortly after 12:40 a.m. on Nov. 15. Clark was reportedly interfering with paramedics treating his girlfriend, who told first responders Clark had caused the woman’s injuries.
Police reports say Clark refused to remove his hand from his pockets, and a physical struggle resulted in Ringgenberg falling on top of Clark, with Clark’s back on the ground.
According to the BCA investigation, evidence shows Clark was not handcuffed and had his hand on Ringgenberg’s gun when Schwarze shot him once in the head.
