Official: Police shooting videos won’t be released
Associated Press
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 Tuesday.
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 Tuesday.
Some witnesses said Clark was handcuffed when he was shot. Police initially said he was not handcuffed, but authorities later said handcuffs were at the scene and they were trying to determine whether Clark was 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 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 the incident began when they were called to north Minneapolis around 12:45 a.m. Sunday afater a report of an assault. When they arrived, a man was interfering with paramedics helping the victim, police said. Officers tried to calm him, but there was a struggle. At some point, an officer fired at least once, hitting the man, police said.