Two weeks after the officer-involved shooting and killing of Jamar Clark, who was shot during an encounter with Minneapolis police early in the morning of Sunday, November 15, more details have emerged about the officers alleged to have been involved in the shooting. While the exact role of officers Dustin Schwarze and Mark Ringgenberg in the shooting of Clark is unknown, both officers have a history of police brutality lawsuits at other departments. CityPages reports on Schwarze:
On Dec. 11, 2011, Nathaniel Hanson and others left a bar for a gathering at a Richfield home, according to Hanson’s lawyer. As the group approached their destination around 2:30 a.m., their car was pulled over. The lawsuit claims that Schwarze pointed his Taser at Hanson and threatened to “beat the shit out of” them if they got out of the vehicle. However, Hanson — who was riding in the back seat — became confused when another officer later told him to get out.
“He was legitimately confused about whether this was sort of like a dare — come on, get out, we’ll see what happens — or was it a different order from a different officer,” says Tim Phillips, Hanson’s attorney. “So he hesitates, and right after he hesitates one of the officers punches him in the face.”
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After the initial punch, Phillips claims officers pulled Hanson out of the car and proceeded to “beat the shit out of him” as promised. While Hanson was on the ground with his hands above his head, Kinsey allegedly punched Hanson another nine times, according to the complaint. Gallatin is accused of kicking and stomping on Hanson several times. Gallatin now works for the St. Paul Police Department, while Kinsey still works in Richfield, according to their attorney.
Schwarze was not one of the cops who “kicked or stomped or punched my client,” the lawyer says. Instead, Schwarze allegedly tased Hanson in “drive-stun mode” — a so-called pain compliance technique in which the Taser can deliver several prolonged shocks. According to the complaint, Schwarze also zapped a fellow officer in the leg. Phillips says Hanson maintains he was not resisting the officers.
CityPages also reports on Riggenberg, who was a police officer in San Diego prior to 2011:
[Fred] Clark [unrelated], who lives in New Jersey, was out on the town with family members when a drunk staggered into him on the street, according to the complaint he filed against Ringgenberg, another cop and the city of San Diego. Clark and the drunk man exchanged words, and Clark says the man used racial slurs in their exchange. Without warning, Clark says, someone seized him from behind, grabbing both arms.
Clark broke free and ran away, but stopped when he realized it was two uniform police officers chasing after him. One of them was Ringgenberg, who put Clark into a chokehold, though Clark says he wasn't resisting the arrest. Clark added that Ringgenberg and the other cop didn't give him any instructions to follow. At least, not until he leaned in and "menacingly" told Clark to "stop resisting."
The rough arrest continued despite Clark's friends and family gathering and trying to explain his altercation with the street drunk. Clark was later charged with "battery upon an officer" and "resisting arrest," but both counts were dropped when a surveillance camera video supported his version of events.
The lawsuit against Schwarze for excessive force was filed 11 days before the incident with Jamar Clark. Fred Clark Jr.’s suit against Riggenberg was dropped after Clark ran out of funds. Both officers face scrutiny into their pasts and the examination so far reveals an all-too common pattern for many officers to carry suits and complaints for brutality from department to department and city to city, with little effect on the day-to-day activities of the officers.