Join COLOR OF CHANGE in demanding footage of Minneapolis police brutal shooting of Jamar Clark

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:


By now you are all well aware of the gangland style murder of Jamar Clark, a 24 year old African American man, at the hands of the Minneapolis police department, along with the routine slap on the wrist and paid vacation given the  perpetrators/officers.

Needless to say the phrase "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!!!" is an understatement - The brutality of victims at the hands of feckless policemen, walking around with a license to kill.  Additionally they have blatently refused to hand over the tapes which prove the death if Jamar Clark was unwarranted.

I have already signed the petition and am forwarding Color of Change's solicitation to you so that you may do so as well.  I expect you to follow suit and then forward the petition to your friends, relatives, associates, neighbor, friends.

I think, however, this should go a step further and request investigation into these matters from Attorney General Lynch's office.  These and other brutalities that have been on the rise need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.  There is such a thing as abuse of power; and it appears that there are municipalities whose law enforcement arm believe they can continue with impunity.  

Additionally, it should be mandatory to turn over all cameras, equipment and recordings immediately to the federal government's judicial system, for immediate review BEFORE local law enforcement have an opportunity to doctor it up or erase it; and if there is any evidence of tampering of any kind, not only will the administrator and perpetrator lose their jobs, they will be incarcerated and fined for tampering with evidence in a suspected homocide.  

The penchant for shooting first and asking questions later; the blue wall of silence, and the profiling of Black men (and women) appears to be a reverse back to days of lawlessness, where the law was more dangerous and insidious than the criminals they purport to be apprehending.  

It's time this was stopped - immediately, if not sooner. Within the signature, let's add a message to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, put a stop to the violence that is being perpetrated against Black people.  Demand that Minneapolis police turn over the videos of the murder, and move forward in dealing with the perpetrators - the Minneapolis Police Department. 

STAY BLESSED &

ECLECTICALLY BLACK

GLORIA 

On Thu, Nov 19, 2015 at 7:35 PM, Scott Roberts, ColorOfChange.org <info@colorofchange.org> wrote:

Dear Gloria,
Yesterday, Minnesota officials released the names of the police who fatally shot Jamar Clark in the head: Officer Mark Ringgenberg and Officer Dustin Schwarze. Both officers have been sued in the past for violence, false arrests and threats.¹
Local officials are refusing to release various videos they have of the killing, choosing instead to ramp up militarized police violence against growing peaceful protests. Right now, activists are camped out at the 4th precinct facing pepper spray, arrest and rubber bullets, while Ringgenberg and Schwarze are on paid leave. ² We will need a groundswell of voices to get to the bottom of what happened to Jamar and secure the justice his family deserves.
Will you join more than 50,000 ColorOfChange members in demanding police release all videos relating to the police killing of Jamar Clark?
The reality is, Jamar’s killing hit a nerve for thousands of Black youth in Minneapolis, a city like so many others in America where systemic anti-Black police violence is rampant. Minneapolis police are nearly 6 times more likely to stop and arrest Black teens than white teens for low level issues, such as “curfew violations.”³ From 2006 to 2012, Minneapolis paid out $14 million for police misconduct, but leadership almost never disciplined officers. In 2014, there was an average of 1.2 complaints against each Minneapolis police officer.⁴ And now, law enforcement are denying the eye-witness testimony of dozens of children, teens and adults who witnessed the shooting and say police shot Jamar "execution style." In order to help this suffering community heal, local officials need to release these videos, expose the truth, and begin the hard work of moving forward.
Instead of arresting courageous youth organizers, Mayor Hodges and Chief Harteau should be doing everything in their power to end the culture of secrecy and impunity that drives anti-Black policing, starting with the release of these videos.
Thank you
Scott
References

1. "Protesters, police have tense night outside 4th Precinct HQ," Star Tribune 11-19-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5534?t=4&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

2. See reference 1.

3. "Patterns of Racial Bias and Overcriminalization Show Urgent Need for Reform: Blacks and Native Americans Disproportionately Affected," ACLU 05-28-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5535?t=6&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

4. "How Did Jamar Clark Die?" The Atlantic 11-18-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5536?t=8&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

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Eye-witnesses say Minneapolis Police fatally shot 24-year-old Jamar Clark "execution style." Join local activists in demanding police release all video of the shooting: TAKE ACTION

Dear Gloria,
This weekend, Minneapolis Police fatally shot unarmed 24-year-old Jamar Clark.
In a scene all too similar to the police shooting of 18-year-old Mike Brown, dozens of people saw the shooting unfold. Eye-witnesses say Jamar was handcuffed with his hands behind his back when police shot him in the head "execution style." ²
The entire event was likely caught on video by a nearby camera, but local officials are refusing to release the footage. Last night, police unjustly arrested more than 51 Black Lives Matter activists for demanding release of the video and justice for Jamar.³ Now, it's time for us to help turn up the pressure to get Jamar's family the answers they deserve.
Click here to demand police release all video footage of the shooting. If enough of us speak out, it will shine a spotlight on local officials and increase the pressure for them to release whatever information they have.
All eye-witness accounts of what happened to Jamar point to murder. According to the latest news reports, police were called to the area for domestic assault. While it's unclear exactly what happened before the paramedics arrived, Jamar allegedly tried to speak to his girlfriend before she was put in an ambulance but police threw him to the ground and arrested him. Moments later, law enforcement shot him in the head. Tate Wilson, a local business owner who saw the shooting happen, said, "the young man was just laying there. He was not resisting arrest."⁴ According to the local NAACP, every eye-witness they've spoken to said Jamar "was handcuffed. Every witness account. [They say police] put a knee on him and shot in the head."⁵
We need the video footage of the shooting in order to hold law enforcement accountable for this brutal violence. Time and time again, we've seen what happens when local officials are able to keep this type of key information from family members and the public.⁶ The longer videos are kept secret the easier it is for police to doctor the footage or alter their stories to fit what's caught on camera instead of what actually happened.⁷ We need full transparency and public accountability or else we will never be able to end the racist culture of corruption and violence that leads to these tragedies. Local officials have asked the Department of Justice to investigate the case, but the investigation will likely take months to complete.⁸ We need answers now.
When NAACP activists Jason Sole heard about the tragic police shooting of Jamar he said, "Minneapolis is one bullet away from Ferguson...that bullet was fired last night."⁹ The reality is, police violence targeting Black people is rampant in cities across America. In fact, Jamar is at least the 251st Black person killed by police in 2015 alone.¹⁰ Due to discriminatory racial stereotypes, police are 21 times more likely to shoot Black teens than white teens.¹¹ And Minneapolis Black youth have had enough. As protesters put their lives on the line to stand with Jamar's family in demanding justice, we must raise our voices to hold local officials accountable.
Enough is enough. Tell Minneapolis law enforcement to release all key evidence pertaining to the police shooting of Jamar Clark.

Thank you,

— Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Lyla and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.

In addition to the foregoing message, ColorOfChange also provided the following links to articles dealing with police brutality:

November 17th, 2015

References:

1. "Black Lives Matter Protesting Police Shooting of a Reportedly Unarmed Man in Minneapolis," Gawker 11-15-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5522?t=14&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

2. See reference 1.

3. "51 arrested in protests after black man shot by Minneapolis police," USA Today 11-17-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5530?t=16&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

4. "Protesters demand video, police accountability in Minneapolis shooting," Reuters 11-16-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5524?t=18&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

5. "Jamar Clark: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know," Heavy.com 11-15-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5525?t=20&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

6. "Police Still Refuse to Release Evidence in Demouria Hogg Shooting Death OPD," Post News Group 07-17-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5526?t=22&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

7. "CONFIRMED: Dashcam Video of Sandra Bland’s Violent Arrest was Indeed Edited," Mint Press News 07-17-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5529?t=24&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

8. "Besty Hodges: Jamar Clark Shooting Should Be Investigated by Department of Justice," City Pages 11-16-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5527?t=26&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

8. See reference 5.

9. "The Counted: People killed by police in the US," The Guardian http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5011?t=28&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

10. "Deadly Force, in Black and White," ProPublica 10-10-2014 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5528?t=30&akid=5066.1818854.MShHcg

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GDW

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