Jamar Clark Shooting Raises More Questions Than Answers: Did Police Shoot A Handcuffed Man?


The shooting death of Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old black man who was shot by a Minneapolis police officer early Sunday morning, has raised more questions than answers, and circumstances surrounding his death aren’t entirely clear. Clark died on Monday after he was taken off life support by family members.

Although details into his death are still being sorted out, there’s no question that Clark was shot and killed by a police officer while authorities responded to a domestic-violence call. A report from CNN states that a lawyer for one of two Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting said Thursday, that Clark had control of a cop’s gun during the scuffle in which he was killed.

Reportedly, Clark was considered a suspect in a domestic violence situation and he was said to be interfering with police who were at the scene. The incident was seen by a number of people who were nearby at the time, and several of them told local media sources that police shot Clark in the head while he was handcuffed. However, police deny these claims and insist he was not cuffed.

“The young man was just laying there; he was not resisting arrest,” Teto Wilson, who witnessed the scene unfold, said. “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.”

Clark’s death has added fuel to racial tensions in the U.S., and Black Lives Matter activists are now demanding that police and investigators release video of the November 15, shooting. Protesters gathered around several small bonfires outside the 4th Police Precinct in North Minneapolis on Saturday, and said they will not leave until the video is made public and justice is served.

In a joint statement, U.S Attorney Andrew M. Luger, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Vanita Gupta, and FBI Special Agent FBI Richard T. Thornton addressed the situation.

“Release of any evidence, including any video, during an ongoing investigation would be extremely detrimental to the investigation,” the statement read.

They also confirmed that federal agencies are conducting an independent investigation. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is also investigating the shooting.

Citing a report from the Guardian, authorities have said it would not be appropriate to release video from sources including an ambulance, a mobile police camera, public housing cameras and citizens’ cellphones, because doing so could taint an investigation by the state bureau of criminal apprehension. A federal criminal civil rights probe also is under way.

Authorities have also said none of the videos show the shooting in its entirety.

Governor Mark Dayton has also spoke on the situation in north Minneapolis and an excerpt from his statement reads as follows.

“I have met this afternoon with members of Mr. Jamar Clark’s family, with the leaders of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, and with Congressman Keith Ellison. I expressed my sympathy to the members of Mr. Clark’s family and his community for their loss. We were joined by telephone by Assistant United States Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Department’s Civil Rights Division and Anthony Newby of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change. The Assistant Attorney General repeated her statement last night that a release of any tapes now in the possession of the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would be ‘extremely detrimental’ to the federal investigation.”

This recent shooting of another black man will undoubtedly bring heavy scrutiny to police in Minneapolis. This story is developing and new details will be posted to this column as they are made available.

[Image via Stephen Maturen/Getty Images News]

Share this article: Jamar Clark Shooting Raises More Questions Than Answers: Did Police Shoot A Handcuffed Man?
More from Inquisitr