National call-in day demands prosecution of the police that killed Jamar Clark
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.