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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/us/minneapolis-shooting-protest-police-jamar-clark.html?_r=0
Gunmen Sought After 5 Are Shot at Protest of Police in Minneapolis
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
NOV. 24, 2015
Five people were shot and wounded Monday night near a police precinct in Minneapolis where demonstrators have been protesting the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man, the police said.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement early Tuesday morning that officers had responded to reports of multiple gunshots about a block north of the Fourth Precinct around 10:40 p.m. Monday. The victims were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the police said.
Miski Noor, an organizer at the Minneapolis arm of Black Lives Matter, said the shooting happened as demonstrators were escorting three masked men who had been behaving suspiciously away from the site of the rally, where people have gathered for more than a week to protest the Nov. 15 shooting of Jamar Clark, 24.
When they reached a dark area, the men turned around and opened fire on the demonstrators before fleeing, Ms. Noor said.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
A police officer sprayed a chemical irritant at demonstrators outside the Minneapolis Police Department's Fourth Precinct station on Wednesday.
Police and Protesters Clash in Minneapolis Over Fatal Shooting of Black ManNOV. 19, 2015
Three of the victims were taken to North Memorial Medical Center by a private vehicle, and two others were transported by ambulance to the Hennepin County Medical Center, according to the police statement.
Ms. Noor said one of the victims was shot in the stomach and underwent surgery early Tuesday.
The police said on Twitter that they were looking for three white male suspects. There had been no arrests early Tuesday. Officials said investigators were still collecting evidence and seeking and interviewing witnesses.
During a telephone call to the precinct, police officers were overheard reviewing surveillance video and describing a masked white man pulling out a firearm, a description that appeared to align with accounts of the shooting that witnesses had given to Ms. Noor. In accounts given on social media and to Ms. Noor, witnesses described the gunmen as three men, two white and one Asian, wearing masks and bulletproof vests.
Ms. Noor said that groups of men had been showing up to the demonstrations and “acting shady” since Friday. Witnesses reported that the men were filming protesters and refusing to answer questions about why they were there, she said. In response, the group put together a safety committee to watch for potential agitators and escort them away as a preventive measure, she said.
The police said in their statement that after the shooting, they had put more officers on patrol near the protests.
Some witnesses said on Twitter that they had been sprayed with Mace by the police following the shooting, including an organizer who was trying to film the aftermath, Ms. Noor said. The police did not respond to that accusation in a news release, and a police spokesman declined to answer questions beyond what was written in the statement.
The fatal shooting of Mr. Clark has led to a series of tense standoffs outside the Fourth Precinct police station.
Protests started within hours of Mr. Clark’s shooting, as some neighbors said that he had been handcuffed when he was shot, which contradicted statements by the Minneapolis police.
Demonstrators have pitched tents outside a police station near the shooting scene, and dozens of people have been arrested during ensuing protests. In one protest, they marched onto an interstate and blocked traffic. Last week, the police used chemical irritants after they said protesters had thrown bricks and bottles.
Activists had pledged to stay until specific demands had been met, including the release of video evidence in Mr. Clark’s shooting.
Officials have met two of the demands, agreeing to a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting and releasing the names of the two officers involved.
The officers involved in the shooting, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, have worked for the Minneapolis Police Department for 13 months, though both have seven years’ experience in law enforcement.
The police said that Mr. Clark was a suspect in an assault and that he had interfered with paramedics trying to treat his victim. When officers arrived, the police said, he fought with them, leading to the gunfire. Some who said they witnessed the episode disputed that account, saying on social media or to local reporters that Mr. Clark was handcuffed when he was shot.
As in other cities where officer-involved shootings of black men have occurred, the protesters in Minneapolis have sought video evidence to resolve discrepancies between the accounts of the police and of witnesses.
Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is conducting the state investigation, has said that the officers involved were not wearing body cameras and that there was no dashboard camera video from police cruisers. Mr. Evans said that cellphone video, surveillance footage from nearby buildings and a camera in an ambulance had captured portions of the encounter, but not all of it. Mr. Evans said that releasing that footage immediately, as protesters have requested, could compromise the investigation.
Mayor Betsy Hodges of Minneapolis issued a statement last week calling on “officers to exercise maximum restraint” and asking “protesters to act peacefully.”
“I understand that emotions are running high in the community and across the city,” her statement said. “I share many of the emotions that people are feeling in Minneapolis today.”
Mr. Clark’s family, in a statement released through Representative Keith Ellison’s office after the shooting, urged the demonstrators to end the protest outside the Fourth Precinct, citing “imminent concern” for their safety, The Associated Press reported.
Mitch Smith contributed reporting from Chicago.
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/us/minneapolis-shooting-protest-police-jamar-clark.html?_r=0
Gunmen Sought After 5 Are Shot at Protest of Police in Minneapolis
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
NOV. 24, 2015
Five people were shot and wounded Monday night near a police precinct in Minneapolis where demonstrators have been protesting the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man, the police said.
The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement early Tuesday morning that officers had responded to reports of multiple gunshots about a block north of the Fourth Precinct around 10:40 p.m. Monday. The victims were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the police said.
Miski Noor, an organizer at the Minneapolis arm of Black Lives Matter, said the shooting happened as demonstrators were escorting three masked men who had been behaving suspiciously away from the site of the rally, where people have gathered for more than a week to protest the Nov. 15 shooting of Jamar Clark, 24.
When they reached a dark area, the men turned around and opened fire on the demonstrators before fleeing, Ms. Noor said.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
A police officer sprayed a chemical irritant at demonstrators outside the Minneapolis Police Department's Fourth Precinct station on Wednesday.
Police and Protesters Clash in Minneapolis Over Fatal Shooting of Black ManNOV. 19, 2015
Three of the victims were taken to North Memorial Medical Center by a private vehicle, and two others were transported by ambulance to the Hennepin County Medical Center, according to the police statement.
Ms. Noor said one of the victims was shot in the stomach and underwent surgery early Tuesday.
The police said on Twitter that they were looking for three white male suspects. There had been no arrests early Tuesday. Officials said investigators were still collecting evidence and seeking and interviewing witnesses.
During a telephone call to the precinct, police officers were overheard reviewing surveillance video and describing a masked white man pulling out a firearm, a description that appeared to align with accounts of the shooting that witnesses had given to Ms. Noor. In accounts given on social media and to Ms. Noor, witnesses described the gunmen as three men, two white and one Asian, wearing masks and bulletproof vests.
Ms. Noor said that groups of men had been showing up to the demonstrations and “acting shady” since Friday. Witnesses reported that the men were filming protesters and refusing to answer questions about why they were there, she said. In response, the group put together a safety committee to watch for potential agitators and escort them away as a preventive measure, she said.
The police said in their statement that after the shooting, they had put more officers on patrol near the protests.
Some witnesses said on Twitter that they had been sprayed with Mace by the police following the shooting, including an organizer who was trying to film the aftermath, Ms. Noor said. The police did not respond to that accusation in a news release, and a police spokesman declined to answer questions beyond what was written in the statement.
The fatal shooting of Mr. Clark has led to a series of tense standoffs outside the Fourth Precinct police station.
Protests started within hours of Mr. Clark’s shooting, as some neighbors said that he had been handcuffed when he was shot, which contradicted statements by the Minneapolis police.
Demonstrators have pitched tents outside a police station near the shooting scene, and dozens of people have been arrested during ensuing protests. In one protest, they marched onto an interstate and blocked traffic. Last week, the police used chemical irritants after they said protesters had thrown bricks and bottles.
Activists had pledged to stay until specific demands had been met, including the release of video evidence in Mr. Clark’s shooting.
Officials have met two of the demands, agreeing to a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting and releasing the names of the two officers involved.
The officers involved in the shooting, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, have worked for the Minneapolis Police Department for 13 months, though both have seven years’ experience in law enforcement.
The police said that Mr. Clark was a suspect in an assault and that he had interfered with paramedics trying to treat his victim. When officers arrived, the police said, he fought with them, leading to the gunfire. Some who said they witnessed the episode disputed that account, saying on social media or to local reporters that Mr. Clark was handcuffed when he was shot.
As in other cities where officer-involved shootings of black men have occurred, the protesters in Minneapolis have sought video evidence to resolve discrepancies between the accounts of the police and of witnesses.
Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is conducting the state investigation, has said that the officers involved were not wearing body cameras and that there was no dashboard camera video from police cruisers. Mr. Evans said that cellphone video, surveillance footage from nearby buildings and a camera in an ambulance had captured portions of the encounter, but not all of it. Mr. Evans said that releasing that footage immediately, as protesters have requested, could compromise the investigation.
Mayor Betsy Hodges of Minneapolis issued a statement last week calling on “officers to exercise maximum restraint” and asking “protesters to act peacefully.”
“I understand that emotions are running high in the community and across the city,” her statement said. “I share many of the emotions that people are feeling in Minneapolis today.”
Mr. Clark’s family, in a statement released through Representative Keith Ellison’s office after the shooting, urged the demonstrators to end the protest outside the Fourth Precinct, citing “imminent concern” for their safety, The Associated Press reported.
Mitch Smith contributed reporting from Chicago.