Police Clash with Jamar Clark Protesters

Tensions peaked last night as protesters hurled bricks and bottles at the police. Police fired marking rounds at the individuals involved but no one has been arrested although one unidentified man was arrested for slashing the tires on an unmarked patrol car.

One protest organizer told KARE 11 a CBS affiliate in Minneapolis that those throwing bricks or bottles at officers are not part of the organized protest and that “there are angry people showing up and causing trouble and making the rest of us look bad.”​

The organizers have publicly committed to non-violence during interviews and can be heard using bullhorns to tell those throwing rocks to stop. 

Earlier in the afternoon the police and SWAT stormed out of the station and tore down an encampment in front of the 4th precinct, which angered the community of the tent city, who had promised to stay until their demands were met. Police used pepper spray on the gathering and claimed the protesters sprayed them. As of now, this is an unsubstantiated claim and the police more than likely just casualties of their own use. A large back and forth on the Minneapolis PD twitter account shows photos of the police using mace on an individual who appears to be flipping them off.

Their demonstrations turned violent as night fell, police told KARE in Minneapolis. Officers used pepper spray to disperse crowds as their headquarters was surrounded. By “violent” they mean the police attacked the encampment and by “surrounded” they mean a large group of people had linked arms and made a large circle around the 4th precinct.

Live-streams of the nights event show heavily armed police dressed in military uniforms patrolling the streets. Rumors that the National Guard had been called in remain unsubstantiated, but judging from the way the police were outfitted I can understand the confusion.

Multiple officers were “injured” but needed no medical attention and a few squad cars were damaged. The police said protests would be tolerated as long as they were peaceful.

Law Enforcement Officers  Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwartz, both of whom have civil rights lawsuits that settled out of court with their previous departments are back in the spotlight again for the shooting of Jamar Clark who at the time of his death witnesses say was in handcuffs. However, the police narrative strongly contradicts this. Riggenberg was sued in 2012 for rough treatment of a suspect resisting arrest. Schwartz was sued in 2009 in a federal lawsuit alleging he had coerced someone to become an informant through false arrests and threats.

Protesters have been occupying the 4th precinct often times including the lobby. Fifty-0ne people were arrested after they shut down HWY 94 on Monday night and Wednesday night they were attacked and had their camp torn down by the same institution that killed one of their friends and neighbors. If the police continue to act this way, I do not see these protests slowing down anytime soon unless the footage is released.

Cornell William Brooks, president of one of the nation’s oldest and most influential black civil rights organizations, will join in a rally and candlelight vigil Friday at 4:30 p.m. outside the Police Department’s precinct headquarters in north Minneapolis, where activists have been maintaining a presence since Clark’s death a few blocks away early Sunday.

Police Clash with Jamar Clark Protesters is a post from Cop Block – Badges Don’t Grant Extra Rights

Source: http://www.copblock.org/147352/police-clash-with-jamar-clark-protesters/