The Minnesota police officers who fatally shot 24-year-old Jamar Clark last November will not be reprimanded.
Minneapolis PD Officers Ringgenberg and Schwarze encountered Clark while responding to a call from paramedics, who claimed Clark was attempting to interfere with an assault victim they were treating, according to The Minneapolis Tribune. Police say when they arrived on the scene and attempted to arrest Clark, a struggle ensued as they were wrestling him to the ground. Clark then allegedly reached for one of the officer’s guns, at which point the officer opened fire.
Witnesses claimed Clark was handcuffed at the time of the shooting and therefore could not have been reaching for the officers’ guns when he was shot, but the investigation into the encounter has concluded otherwise. “Jamar Clark was not handcuffed, and the DNA evidence does show that Clark grabbed officer Ringgenberg’s holster and gun,” Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said at a news conference on Friday. “I have concluded that the use of deadly force in the line of duty was necessary to protect an officer from death or great bodily harm.”
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Although Clark was unarmed at the time of the shooting, the officers involved will ultimately face no disciplinary action of any kind given the findings of the investigation. The officers were cleared of all charges in connection with the incident back in March. Clark family attorney Albert Goins says the family is frustrated that the investigation failed to reveal policy violations and plans to pursue a civil lawsuit.