Activists who have done work around the Jamar Clark case were ready to ask the hard questions, especially of Bob Kroll and Mike Freeman. The discussion started out with ten pre-selected questions, and then those present were able to ask questions. But an hour in, that was not to be.

Bob Kroll was challenged for his affiliation with City Heat, a white supremacist motorcycle gang, and for his public statements calling Black Lives Matter protesters “terrorists.”

Asked about his biggest regret being a prosecutor, Mike Freeman stated that using grand juries in other police shootings was a mistake and that going forward, since the Jamar Clark case, he will no longer use grand juries. The audience asked him why his biggest regret was not his failure to charge a single officer in 52 cases of police murdering innocent people under his watch. James Clark, Jamar’s father, confronted Freeman about his son’s case and the racism he sees from law enforcement in the community every day. Dennis Cherry, Sr., a witness to the Clark murder, asked why the accounts of two dozen Black witnesses were ignored in Freeman’s decision not to prosecute Clark’s killers.

Activists challenged Freeman on the case of white supremacists who shot five young men during the Fourth Precinct occupation. Cameron Clark, who was wounded in the attack, was present at the event. Chauntyll Allen asked Freeman why he sat with the family of one of the shooters during a bail hearing. Freeman denied this, but several audience members took to their feet, saying they had seen him with their own eyes.

Moments later the panel left, not wanting to hear the truth. Those who attended did not believe that any transparency happened. In the words of one audience member, it was a “dog and pony,” show.

The meeting took place just blocks from where Jamar Clark was shot by two Minneapolis officers on November 15, 2015.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #JamarClark #MikeFreeman #BobKroll

Minneapolis, MN – Organizers the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar will hold several local actions to win justice prosecution of the police who killed Jamar Clark in November, and they are asking supporters from across the country to lend their voices in the effort, with a national call-in day set for Thursday, March 24.

Last week, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman bowed to weeks of community pressure and agreed to not use a grand jury in the case of the police killing of Jamar Clark. He went further, committing to end the use of grand juries in police shooting cases in Hennepin County. Grand juries operate in secret and are used to shield police from accountability, covering up their actions in almost every case that they are used.

Mike Freeman has not yet brought charges against Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, the Minneapolis police officers involved in the shooting death of Clark, a 24-year-old African American man, who many eyewitnesses say was handcuffed and on the ground when he was killed with a single shot to the head.

According to Jess Sundin, “His death has shaken not only Jamar's family, but our entire community. The cops who killed him need to be put on trial for murder, but Freeman has dragged his feet for months.”

Freeman is expected to announce a decision on the case before the end of March. Sundin continued, “Mike Freeman would be happy to walk away and forget about Jamar Clark. Our job is to make sure he can't. We need to make sure he knows that the whole country is watching, waiting for him to bring charges against those killer cops.”

On Thursday, March 24, calls will be directed to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman at 612-348-5550 as well as the chair of the board of county commissioners, Jan Callison, at 612-348-7886. Callers are asked to let the offices know where they are calling from, and to say that you want to see prosecution of the police officers that killed Jamar Clark.

The Coalition will head to the Hennepin County Government Center for another #FreemanFriday protest, March 25 at 4:30. There is also a major rally set to take place there on Saturday, March 26 at noon.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #JamarClark #MikeFreeman

In a statement to the media today, Freeman credited this change of course to concerns he’s heard from people about the Clark case. After a month of weekly protests at his office, thousands of calls to his office, testimony at county commissioners meetings and an open letter from Jamar Clark’s parents, he said, “I concluded that the accountability and transparency limitations of a grand jury are too high a hurdle to overcome. So, at this point in time, and in a democracy where we continually strive to make our systems fairer, more just and more accountable, we in Hennepin County will not use the grand jury in the Jamar Clark case.”

Brettina Davis of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar said, “Every day we were at Freeman's office asking for justice. The reason we continued is because we believe in a world where there is justice, where if you commit a crime you go to court have a chance to defend yourself just like everyone else. The Coalition has been fighting the fight every week. No breaks and no vacations when it comes to justice. The fight is not over, but we should celebrate the small victories and fight for the large ones.”

Freeman also said he will no longer use grand juries in police shooting cases in Hennepin County. Corydon Nillson, who has been coming out to the protests at Freeman’s office, explained the significance of this announcement, “In Minnesota, since the year 2000, there have been over 140 deaths at the hands of officers. The grand jury process has returned zero indictments. Our stance has been that the grand jury process is where justice goes to die. We have been showing up at his office the last five weeks, urging him to forego the process. His office had said that he was going to use the grand jury until today. This is monumental for this case. He also followed California's lead and decided to not use the grand jury process when it comes to police-involved shootings in Hennepin County. The grand jury process rarely indicts officers, so this is a huge deal!”

The community continues to demand prosecution of police officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, who are back at work despite their responsibility in Clark’s death. Several witnesses have shared accounts of the night, with Clark on the ground and handcuffed before he was shot. Despite this, Freeman said, “I will make the factual determination whether there is sufficient evidence to support a criminal charge against the police officers in the tragic death of Jamar Clark.”

The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar will hold a public meeting to update the community and organize next steps in the fight for justice for Jamar Clark. The meeting will take place on Saturday, March 19 at noon at the Urban Jerusalem Church, 1823 Emerson Avenue N, Minneapolis.

#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #grandJury #GrandJuries #JamarClark #MikeFreeman