Official: Minneapolis police shooting videos won't be released
MINNEAPOLIS -- State investigators looking into the fatal shooting of a black Minneapolis man by police during a scuffle have several partial videos of the incident but won't release them at this time, despite demands from protesters, an official said yesterday.
Jamar ONeal Clark, 24, died Monday evening, a day after he was shot by police during an early-morning dispute, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said yesterday.
Some witnesses said Clark was handcuffed when he was shot. Police initially said he was not handcuffed, but later authorities said handcuffs were at the scene and they were trying to determine whether Clark had been restrained.
His death sparked protests including one Monday night in which hundreds of people blocked traffic on an interstate highway, leading to 42 arrests.
The BCA is investigating the case, but Mayor Betsy Hodges has also requested a federal civil rights investigation. That satisfied one of the protesters' demands, but investigators haven't met two others: the release of any video and the identities of the officers involved.
Police said they were called to north Minneapolis around 12:45 a.m. Sunday following a report of an assault. They arrived to find a man interfering with paramedics helping the victim, police said. There was a struggle, and an officer fired at least once, hitting the man, they said.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said investigators have video from several sources, including an ambulance, a mobile police camera stationed in the area, public housing cameras and citizens' cellphones. But he said none of the videos captured the entire incident and none will be released while the investigation is continuing.
The officers involved weren't wearing body cameras. Evans said there is no police dashcam video of the shooting. He declined to release any identifying information about the officers, including their race, pending interviews with them.
Evans also confirmed that Clark was unarmed.
Clark's brother, Jamine Robinson, 32, of Rochester, told The Associated Press that family members had gone to the hospital Monday evening to take Clark off life support.
Hodges, in seeking the civil rights investigation, said she was concerned about "transparency and community confidence."
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
