Vol. 79/No. 44      December 7, 2015

 
(front page)

Minn. protests against police killing
grow after racists shoot demonstrators

 
 
MINNEAPOLIS — More than 1,500 opponents of the police killing of 24-year-old Jamar Clark marched to City Hall Nov. 24 from their protest encampment in front of the 4th Precinct police station here, demonstrating their resolve to continue fighting despite the shooting of five of their number by racist thugs the night before.

A small group of Caucasians who appeared to be wearing bulletproof vests showed up after 10 p.m. and started taunting those at the encampment. They were escorted out but turned and opened fire a block away, hitting five protesters. Among those reported shot were Wesley Martin — who returned to the encampment the next day; Cameron Clark, a cousin of Jamar Clark; Tevin King; and Draper Larkins.

Miski Noor, a media spokesperson for Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, spoke from the encampment before the march. “We have zero faith in the police,” she said. “We will not bow to fear or intimidation. We recommit ourselves to the occupation and continue to demand release of any tapes of the shooting.”

Clark was shot in the head a few blocks from the station, which is located in the heart of North Minneapolis, an overwhelmingly Black area of the city. Three days later, police officials released the names of the officers involved in the shooting, Mike Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze.

Several witnesses claim that Clark had been handcuffed by the police before he was shot. The police dispute this claim. Cops say Clark interfered with paramedics helping an injured woman they say Clark had struck in a domestic dispute. After the shooting, area residents took to the streets, shouting at the cops and accusing them of murder.

Later that day North Minneapolis residents, Black Lives Matter members and others gathered in an impromptu protest at the site of the shooting. Nekelia Sharp, one of several neighbors who spoke, told the Militant that she witnessed the killing from across the street.

“He never resisted. When they cuffed him, they had him cuffed hand in hand and they slammed that man down,” Sharp said. “One had his knee on his back. When that boy looked up, the only thing he could say was ‘f-you’ and there was the bullet.”

The crowd of several hundred marched down Plymouth Avenue to the station, where protesters set up the encampment in front of the station and occupied the entryway.

Family members reported Clark had been declared brain-dead and was taken off life support Nov. 16.

The local chapter of the NAACP and Black Lives Matter have organized daily rallies, marches and vigils. One march shut down Interstate 94 for several hours and ended in the arrest of 51 protesters. Cornell Brooks, president of the national NAACP, joined an action of nearly 1,000 Nov. 21, drawing a broad, multinational crowd from throughout the area.

Under growing pressure, Democratic Farmer-Labor Party Mayor Betsy Hodges and Police Chief Janeé Harteau took the investigation of the shooting out of the hands of the Minneapolis cops. Harteau said the inquiry would be conducted by the Minnesota state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and requested the FBI conduct a parallel civil rights investigation.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says it has footage from a mobile police camera stationed in the area, nearby public housing surveillance cameras, an ambulance dashcam and people’s cellphones, but won’t release them until after the investigation is completed — in two to four months.

The head of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, Lt. Bob Kroll, has emerged as the de facto spokesperson for the two cops. He claims that Clark was trying to take an officer’s gun from his holster when he was shot. He criticized the mayor and police chief for not shutting down the protesters’ encampment.

Three nights after the shooting, police moved to physically eject the protesters from the entryway of the police station. The move precipitated a night of heated confrontation and the deployment of a tactical squad with rifles armed with beanbag rounds and tear gas. The cops doused protesters with what they called a “chemical irritant.” Some individuals in the crowd threw rocks and bricks at police and parked cop cars. Images of these actions, featuring participation by a small group flying an anarchist red and black flag, were played extensively on the local media.

The protesters were expelled from inside the building, but the encampment outside stayed up. Hot food, tents, hats and gloves, as well as firewood to feed bonfires have been donated. The Service Employees International Union gave a porta-potty.

At the initiative of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3800, which organizes clerical workers at the University of Minnesota, some 100 trade unionists from nearly a dozen unions organized a “Labor for Justice for Jamar” rally Nov. 21.

Students from nearby Anwatin Middle School made their way here to show support. A local group of Native American dancers and drummers came and performed. “The African community is united with our African-American brothers and sisters,” said Abdullah Kiatumba, executive director of African Immigrant Services, at a vigil here.
 
 
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