The investigation was completed very thoroughly and no charges were filed. Do you think the BLM folks will accept the ruling that a drunk, high and violent Jamar Clark brought this violent end upon himself?
Hennepin County Evidence Page
MP No Charges
MPR No Charges
CNN No Charges
Hennepin County Evidence Page
MP No Charges
MPR No Charges
CNN No Charges
17 comments:
I don't think there will be much ongoing protest.
I hope you are correct.
I don't think facts mean much to "those people" (pardon the expression). Hopefully the police resolve to not tolerate lawlessness will mean more.
The decision not to charge was correct, but this appears to be yet another circumstance where police escalation created a no-win situation.
Police escalation...
We have a drunk / high known criminal who had assaulted his girl friend, threatened the paramedics and would not remove his hands from his pockets...
I think Jamar did plenty of escalation all by himself... Could the Police have de-escalated him given his past problems with authority. I do not know?
If you read the police interview with the girlfriend, you'll note she says Jamar *did not* assault her.
Could the police have de-escalated him? Who knows? They didn't even really try.
If they are telling the truth... They asked him to take his hands out of his pockets... And he would not even do that one simple thing.
Would you be willing to talk with a wound up drunk with their hands in their pockets? (ie possibly holding a gun)
From MP
"I find it very sad how so many readers- and Minnesotans- are choosing to so harshly judge a community that is grieving and has every right to be skeptical of the "justice" system. This is one police killing of so many. What happened was the paramedics called the police, some junior officers (one with an excessive force case against him from CA) arrived, and 61 seconds later someone was dead. If you saw or heard the video, after Jamar was shot, bystanders were screaming "Why did you do that?" in horror- they are traumatized and live in legitimate fear of something similar happening every day. Have some empathy, I urge you.
Eye witness account and witness testimony IS NOT the same as "opinion." I personally know some of the witnesses that feel their testimony was not taken seriously. It is clear that Freeman weighed the testimony of the police more heavily than other eye witnesses, and this is understandably beyond frustrating for many in the Black community, a community that has been used, abused and undervalued for centuries. This document has been circulating; please take a look: http://www.scribd.com/doc/306408851/Victim-Rayann-Hayes-Interview-Transc...
I also think we need to de-emphasize the dichotomy of was he handcuffed or not. He may not have been handcuffed, but he was on the ground, with an officer on top of him. I find it very hard to believe he could have shot the officer, even if his hand was on his gun- it is logistically implausible. If the officer felt differently, I can't help but think it has something to do with his assumptions about black men being inherently violent, dangerous, and super-human; this bias has been documented across the country.
Also, 0.09 BAC is not drunk for an adult man. Only years ago, in the state of Minnesota, you could legally drive with a 0.1 BAC. Drinking is legal, and marijuana use is legal in many states- this is not a reason to be okay with the loss of Jamar's life. The police are not the jury. The death penalty is not legal in Minnesota.
This particular tragedy brings up so many tragedies. I just wish people that have nothing to do with it, and no real interaction with Black people due to our very segregated state, would have compassion and allow people to feel their feelings, without discounting their pain, their intellectual ability to weigh facts/evidence, and their desire for systemic change." Shaina
"One of my favorite concepts is "contribution". Very simple stated... Rarely is one party or action responsible for a resulting consequence. However often people want to blame someone or something when bad things happen. In this case Jamar's and the police's behavior both contributed to a very bad consequence...I have not read anywhere where people are saying that the officers performed well in this tragic situation. I only hear that they did not break the law.
Now you can choose to point a finger at the officers and ignore the fact that Jamar was drunk, high and threatening enough that the paramedics locked themselves in the ambulance until the police came. Personally I think that is doing a disservice to your local police and community. Please remember that these officers risk their lives often by walking into these highly emotional disputes. They don't get to hit a rewind button or second guess themselves.
Now I do empathize with your loss, and the fear you live with. I only ask what would your lives be if these officers were not willing to walk into harms way every night? Apparently 124 of them in the USA died in the line of duty in 2015. What do you think they should do if the suspect refuses to take their hands out their pocket? What would you do if you were the officer?
Again it takes 2 to argue. That is the concept of contribution." G2A
" I can't help but think it has something to do with his assumptions about black men being inherently violent, dangerous, and super-human; ..."
What evidence can you offer that the officer did not consider THIS ONE black man "inherently violent, dangerous, and super-human"? And since this was obviously the case, what else should the officer have done, give the guy a pass BECAUSE he was black? That seems to be what is being demanded, that black people get a pass on criminal behavior, like shutting down streets and burning buildings.
"Would you be willing to talk with a wound up drunk with their hands in their pockets? (ie possibly holding a gun)"
There's nothing in Clark's behavior on the videos that indicates he was "wound up". He wasn't moving quickly or erratically.
Why do you think the paramedics locked themselves in the ambulance and waited for the police? Please remember that these inner city paramedics see a lot of very rough situations. They are not the easiest folks to frighten.
Something about Jamar's behavior was threatening enough to put all of these trained hardened professionals on edge.
From Sean:
RayAnn Hayes interview
Maybe we're being fed a narrative.
Now who to trust...
The hopefully sober professional paramedics who took the statement and locked themselves in the ambulance for some reason.
Or the woman who was drinking, has/had a different boy friend at the time, didn't no Jamar was dead for 2 days, who needs to live with / near Jamar's peers, etc.
I have more faith in the paramedics.
It's also possible that the paramedics overreacted or read into the situation. The videos showed that Jamar did nothing to physically interfere with getting Hayes into the ambulance.
That is possible.
However it just as possible that they re-acted correctly. Hard to tell from a no sound video that shows only a small portion of the action.
I would still put my faith in the sober relatively impartial professionals.
The problem with the "eye witnesses" is that their tales are either self-serving, contradictory, or incompatible with the forensic evidence, or all three. Good ol' CSI-MN.
BTW, did you notice the Star Tribune having a rare moment of sanity, reacting to NAACP leaders and saying "No, if the town burns, it will be the responsibility of those doing the burning."
Thank heavens the Star Tribune folks are preaching rational thought.
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