FBI to probe Minneapolis police shooting
Some protesters claim unarmed victim was handcuffed when shot
The FBI will investigate the deadly Minneapolis police shooting of an unarmed black man that has sparked protests, officials say.
The FBI will investigate the deadly Minneapolis police shooting of an unarmed black man over the weekend that has sparked local protests, Minnesota officials said.
Jamar Clark, 24, died at a hospital Monday night after a Minneapolis police officer shot him in the head during a scuffle early Sunday morning. The killing, which the county medical examiner ruled a homicide, has set off angry street demonstrations. Protesters have said that Clark was handcuffed when police shot him.
The two officers involved, who met with state investigators Tuesday night, have said Clark was not handcuffed, a police union official told the Star Tribune, the local newspaper.
Police said the incident began when paramedics responded to a report of an assault in north Minneapolis about 12:45 a.m. Sunday.
Clark was suspected of assaulting a woman, and after paramedics arrived to treat her, he returned to the scene and interfered with their efforts, according to the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which has taken over the investigation. The Star Tribune, citing a neighbor, identified the woman as Clark’s girlfriend.
The paramedics called for police help, and two Minneapolis officers arrived and tried to calm the suspect, the police department said in a statement after the shooting. “A physical altercation took place with the suspect, who was not in handcuffs. At some point during the struggle, an officer discharged his weapon, striking the suspect.”
A crowd quickly gathered, yelling and cursing at police. Some alleged that police shot Clark while he was handcuffed, according to a bystander’s YouTube video of the scene.
“The young man was just laying there; he was not resisting arrest,” barbershop owner Teto Wilson, who witnessed the incident, said in a statement released through the Minneapolis NAACP. “Two officers were surrounding the victim on the ground, an officer maneuvered his body around to shield Jamar’s body, and I heard the shot go off.”
In an interview with a local TV station, Wilson said he was not close enough to see whether Clark was handcuffed.
The Minneapolis NAACP issued a statement claiming that Clark was “murdered, execution style.”
State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said Tuesday that investigators found handcuffs at the scene but that they were still determining whether police had put them on Clark.
The officers, who have been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation, did not have dashboard or body cameras, said Evans.
State investigators are examining surveillance and witness videos that recorded snippets of the incident, “none of which captured the event in its entirety,” said Evans, who said he would not release any video in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.
Officials will identify the two officers involved in the shooting after they are interviewed within the next day or two, Evans said. Investigators will present the case to the Hennepin County attorney’s office to determine whether charges should be filed.
Evans added that the FBI would be conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges requested.