Black Lives Matter Assessing Protests As Clark Shooting Investigation Continues
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- People who've been protesting outside the Minneapolis Police 4th Precinct for the past week say it's time to re-evaluate their strategy.
This comes after a meeting with Governor Mark Dayton on Saturday.
The group Black Lives Matter has been calling for the release of any video police have of the shooting of Jamar Clark. He was the young man, shot by a Minneapolis officer a week ago.
The police union says Clark had grabbed another officer's gun, but witnesses say Clark was handcuffed.
The group Black Lives Matter had hoped Gov. Dayton would call on law enforcement to immediately release video from the shooting of Jamar Clark. He didn't do that, but he did listen to some of the demands from the group.
The meeting with the governor led to a community meeting Sunday, where we are told the discussion centered around what to do now. Black Lives Matter is contemplating whether to remain outside the fourth precinct or find different ways to create the changes they want to see.
It's been the centerpiece of the week-long protest outside the Minneapolis 4th precinct. Protesters say video of Clark's shooting will prove he was handcuffed when police shot him.
It's something the Minneapolis police union and department say is not true.
"I expressed my sympathy to the members of Mr. Clark's family and his community for their loss," Dayton said.
The group's call to release the video has garnered the support of some local leaders, including city council members and Congressman Keith Ellison. But Gov. Dayton met with the family of Jamar Clark Saturday and concluded the video should be released when law enforcement feels it won't be detrimental to the ongoing investigation into the shooting.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the community I've been standing with, I'm incredibly proud," Kandace Montgomery with Black Lives Matter said.
Black Lives Matter organizers say that's when they decided to ask some community members what they want to do going forward, how much longer protesting at the precinct should go on.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen, I think it depends on how much the mayor and Chief Harteau are actually committed to allowing peaceful protestors to continue to peacefully protest," Montgomery said.
Protest organizers say one thing is certain, even if the fires outside the precinct stop burning, the group will not stop pursuing what it calls "Justice for Jamar."
We're still waiting to see what may have come out of community meeting Sunday. Gov. Dayton called for attorneys from the Department of Justice to meet with Clark's family about the status of police video --- we were told they'd be coming in Sunday. Black Lives Matter says they've not yet met with any federal attorneys.
Gov. Dayton also called for the Department of Justice to examine the events of the last week for protesters to see if there were any civil rights violations.
Protesters say they feel as though they were mistreated by police during the course of this week. Chief Janee Harteau says any investigation would find her officers have handled all of this with professionalism, and she says she's so proud of how they've handled themselves.
