Hundreds mourn for man shot by Minneapolis police

Friends grieve outside Shiloh Temple at Jamar Clark’s funeral Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Friends grieve outside Shiloh Temple at Jamar Clark’s funeral Wednesday in Minneapolis.

MINNEAPOLIS -- A steady stream of mourners entered a north Minneapolis church on Wednesday to pay their respects to a man whose death in a confrontation with police sparked more than a week of protests. Meanwhile, charges were pending against three men suspected in a melee that left five protesters with gunshot wounds.

RELATED ARTICLE

http://www.arkansas…">Protesters urge shopping-district shutdown

photo

AP/Star Tribune

Irma Burns, center, mother of Jamar Clark, is escorted Wednesday from her son’s casket during funeral services at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis. A steady stream of mourners entered the north Minneapolis church on Wednesday to pay their respects to Clark, whose death in a confrontation with police sparked more than a week of protests.

photo

AP/Star Tribune

Demonstrators outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct gesture Wednesday as the funeral procession for Jamar Clark passes by.

A picture of a smiling Jamar Clark adorned the program for his funeral at Shiloh Temple International Ministries. Inside, his obituary said the 24-year-old man "liked to swim, fish, listen to music, play basketball, be with family and take trips to Charlotte, N.C."

Clark, who was black, died Nov. 15 in what police say was a scuffle with officers responding to an assault of a woman in which he was a suspect. Some community members who say they saw the confrontation allege Clark was handcuffed when he was shot, which police have disputed. A state criminal investigation and a federal civil-rights probe are underway.

Several hundred people filled the cavernous Shiloh Temple, with impassioned speeches from family members and pastors occasionally interrupted by shouts and applause, and a slide show of pictures of Clark as he grew up. Several members of Clark's family wore white T-shirts that read, "I matter," on the front with Clark's picture on the back.

"I'm still hurt," said his sister, Sharice Burns. "I'm still suffering. We need justice sooner rather than later."

The Rev. Richard Howell praised protesters for pressure that he said helped get a federal civil-rights investigation and the names of the officers involved. Howell said what's needed now is a special state legislative session to address the needs of Minnesota's minority groups.

"Jamar, your life did and does have purpose," he said to a standing ovation. "Your death is not in vain."

Protesters have rallied nightly outside the 4th Precinct police station near the scene of his death. On Tuesday, police arrested three white men -- ages 26, 23 and 21 -- on suspicion of shooting five Black Lives Matters protesters after some of them tried to get the men to leave the site late Monday.

The shootings spurred a march Tuesday evening, with a racially mixed crowd marching more than 2 miles to City Hall and back. Hundreds of demonstrators milled quietly around portable fire pits to share coffee, pizza and doughnuts as music played.

But the shootings have prompted safety concerns. Clark's family has asked for protesters to end the 4th Precinct encampment, out of concern for their safety, and U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison said it would be wise to "start thinking about an exit strategy" and what to do next.

Steven Belton, interim president of the Minneapolis Urban League, echoed those sentiments Wednesday, saying protesters had achieved most of what they wanted, including the federal investigation and the names of the officers involved.

Belton said the vigil should end to "restore order" to the community, which he said has endured open gunfire, traffic and service interruptions, smoke from the protesters' fires and hours of helicopter noise.

Ellison's office early Tuesday issued a statement on behalf of the Clark family after the shootings, calling for an end to the protests for safety's sake, a request that organizers quickly rejected. Protesters are calling for the release of video of Clark's shooting, which police said happened after Clark struggled with officers. But some people who said they saw the shooting said Clark was handcuffed.

Police haven't commented on a motive for the attack on the protesters. That shooting followed several racially disparaging comments about the protests that had been posted on social media in recent days.

"We ain't scared," Minneapolis NAACP President Nekima Levy-Pounds told a large crowd gathered for a concert at the precinct Tuesday evening. "We can't back down. We ain't turning around, but we're here fighting for justice."

Fourteen people whom protesters believed to be white supremacists were kicked out of the area one recent night, said Mica Grimm, an organizer of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis. She said they arrived with their faces covered and filmed the crowd but would not talk to people. Some made racially discriminatory comments.

Grimm said concerns were brought up to police, but protesters felt the threats were not being taken seriously.

The situation escalated Monday night when members of the protesters' security team approached three men and one woman who were standing under a "Justice4Jamar" sign and asked what they were doing.

"We're here for Jamar," one said, according to Henry Habu, who had been providing security for the demonstrators.

Habu said he and others tried to escort the four away from the protest, and they took off running. He and others said at least three members of the group were wearing masks that covered the lower half of their faces.

Some protesters criticized the police response time and said officers arrived in full riot gear. Officers aggressively pushed back on the crowd, protester Jie Wronski-Riley said, at one point using a chemical irritant to keep people back.

Police did not answer questions about their response to the shootings or about their response to previous reports of suspicious behavior.

Wesley Martin was among those shot. But Tuesday, he was back at the scene, walking with a cane after being hit in the left leg and treated at a hospital.

He said his 19-year-old brother, Tevin, was wounded in the stomach and was in intensive care but was expected to recover.

Asked why he returned after being shot, Martin said: "Bullets aren't going to stop me from supporting what I want to do anyway."

A Section on 11/26/2015

Upcoming Events