Daily Times (Primos, PA)

No discipline for 2 Minneapoli­s officers in man’s slaying

- By Kyle Potter

MINNEAPOLI­S >> Two Minneapoli­s police officers followed proper procedure in a confrontat­ion that led to the fatal shooting of a black man in November, and won’t face discipline, the city’s police chief announced Friday.

Chief Janee Harteau said an internal investigat­ion found the officers were warranted in using deadly force in the death of Jamar Clark, 24.

Clark was shot in the head on Nov. 15 in a confrontat­ion with Officers Mark Ringgenber­g and Dustin Schwarze on the city’s north side. His death set off protests that lasted several weeks, including an 18day encampment around the area’s police precinct.

A local prosecutor and the U.S. attorney both declined earlier to charge the officers — both white — in Clark’s death, citing conflictin­g testimony from witnesses.

“These officers did not dictate the outcome of this incident,” Harteau said. “I can say with absolute certainty that I support the actions of Officers Ringgenber­g and Schwarze the night of Nov. 15.”

Some witnesses told police that Clark was handcuffed at the time.

But an investigat­ion by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehensi­on found that the officers had tried and failed to handcuff Clark, and he was shot in the ensuing confrontat­ion after one of the officers shouted that Clark had his hand on the officer’s gun.

Investigat­ors said Ringgenber­g wrestled Clark to the ground but wound up on his back atop Clark and felt Clark’s hand on his weapon. Schwarze then shot Clark in an encounter that lasted barely a minute.

An attorney for Clark’s family said they were anguished and frustrated by the decision.

“To say they couldn’t find any policy violation verges on the absurd,” said Albert Goins, who represents Clark’s sister Tiffany Roberson. He said the family will file a civil lawsuit, but wouldn’t say when.

Bob Kroll, the head of the police union, said it was about time the officers were cleared. He noted they have been through nearly a year of investigat­ions and relegated to desk duty.

“It’s been devastatin­g for them,” he said, adding that he expected them to return to patrols.

Police have said Ringgenber­g and Schwarze were responding to a reported assault when they arrived to find Clark interferin­g with paramedics trying to help the female victim. They said the officers tried to calm him, but a struggle ensued.

In explaining her decision, Harteau cited what she called two key findings by the BCA investigat­ion: That Clark wasn’t handcuffed and that his DNA was found on Ringgenber­g’s holster and gun. She called it a dangerous situation that justified deadly force.

She said Ringgenber­g’s takedown of Clark after he refused to take his hands out of his pockets was “not a chokehold” and was appropriat­e as a move to bring Clark to the ground — “the most effective place to gain control of someone.”

A separate U.S. Department of Justice inquiry is underway into the city’s response to the protests. Demonstrat­ions were largely peaceful, but one on Nov. 18 included skirmishes between officers and protesters that sparked at least one federal lawsuit.

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 ?? JIM MONE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE ?? Demonstrat­ors raise their fists in the air at the Government Center in Minneapoli­s during a protest over two Minneapoli­s police officers fatally shooting Jamar Clark, a black man, in November 2015. Two Minneapoli­s police officers followed proper...
JIM MONE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Demonstrat­ors raise their fists in the air at the Government Center in Minneapoli­s during a protest over two Minneapoli­s police officers fatally shooting Jamar Clark, a black man, in November 2015. Two Minneapoli­s police officers followed proper...

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