Killing of Jamar Clark

Jamar Clark was attending the birthday party of Nekelia Sharp, who was hosting the event at her apartment on the 1600 block of Plymouth Avenue North in Minneapolis.

Sharp and her husband engaged in a dispute and Clark's girlfriend grabbed Sharp, after which Sharp and Clark's girlfriend fought.

Clark stepped in to pull his girlfriend away and, according to Sharp, Clark's girlfriend hit him.

The pair left and soon, someone called for help and paramedics were called.

Sharp let them into her apartment and they escorted Clark's girlfriend to the ambulance, which Clark approached after she had entered it.

An onlooker reported that both the paramedics and police who had arrived at the scene asked Clark to step away from the ambulance and that police then stepped out of their car, arrested Clark on the ground, and the EMS supervisor placed a knee on Clark's chest, after which point he was shot.

County Attorney accounts say that Clark got into a confrontation with paramedics and then when police officers responded at 12:45a.m., a struggle ensued, Clark obtained the officer's gun, leading to the shooting by the other officer.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that Clark was resisting and was not handcuffed.

In a statement on November 16, police chief Janeé Harteau said that the Minneapolis Police Department's preliminary information was that Clark was not restrained with handcuffs when shot.

An autopsy report, released on November 17, by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner concluded that Clark died from a gunshot wound to the head.

The President of the Minneapolis Police Union Bob Kroll said that Clark was actively resisting arrest and tried to take the weapon of one of the officers, and that he was not handcuffed at the moment of the shooting.

Clark's DNA was found on the handle of one of the officers' gun.

Mike Freeman said there was no forensic evidence on Clark's arm indicating he was handcuffed at the time of shooting.

In addition, he stated that 10 law enforcement and paramedic witnesses including the officers involved said he was not handcuffed.

The United States Department of Justice Department declined to prosecute the officers, saying it found "insufficient evidence" for criminal civil rights charges.

The federal government decision followed a separate investigation in March by Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which concluded that the officers acted in self-defense and would not face criminal charges for the killing.

Schwarze shot Clark only after Ringgenberg scuffled with the young man, according to the BCA findings.

Clark allegedly took control of the officer's gun and Ringgenberg told Schwarze to open fire.

Jamar Clark (May 3, 1991 – November 16, 2015) was adopted by Wilma and James Clark when he was four.

His family stated that he had a close relationship with his biological and adoptive parents and his 14 siblings.

Clark had endured a difficult childhood but despite this, was on his way to turning his life around.

At the time of the shooting, he was employed by Tim Hoag at Copeland Trucking and had hopes of attending college, although he never enrolled.

Clark had previous encounters with law enforcement, beginning in 2010 when he received a felony conviction for first-degree aggravated robbery.

The conviction resulted in a sentence of 41 months in prison, of which it is unclear how many Clark served.

On November 15, 2015, two police officers fatally shot Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old African-American man, in Minneapolis.

The two shooters were Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze.

They were a part of the Minneapolis Police Department which subsequently placed the men on paid administrative leave.

The night after Ringgenberg and Schwarze shot him, Clark died at the Hennepin County Medical Center after being taken off life support.

His death resulted from one of the gunshot wounds the shooters inflicted on November 15.

In response to the shooting, Black Lives Matter organized protests outside the Fourth Precinct police station that lasted for 18 days, as well as other protests and demonstrations in and around Minneapolis.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced that cases concerning officer-involved shootings would no longer be put before grand juries, but instead his office would make the decision to file criminal charges.

Clark faced a second conviction for terroristic threats after he threatened to burn down the apartment of an ex-girlfriend in March 2015, following a bitter breakup.

According to Kyle Potter of the Associated Press, "He threw a brick through his ex-girlfriend's window and threatened to burn her apartment unit down -- leaving behind a trail of lighter fluid to prove it, according to court documents."

As of November 2015, he was on probation for this crime.

Potter wrote that Clark's ex-girlfriend described him as "a nurturing, loving man who was drawn to her four children, giving them advice and helping them sell candy for school", but that she also said that their relationship soured in recent times, resulting in their breakup.

Additionally, Clark was awaiting trial for a high-speed chase arrest from July 2015.

On March 30, 2016, Freeman announced that no charges would be filed against Ringgenberg and Schwarze.

Freeman concluded that the officers acted in accordance with Minnesota Statutes authorizing deadly force and that the state would be unable to provide evidence that the officer's use of force was unlawful.

In 2019, Clark's family agreed to a $200,000 civil settlement which was approved by city council.

A Domestic Abuse No Contact Order was issued for Clark, requiring him to stay away from the ex-girlfriend until 2020.