Grand juries will no longer be utilized in officer-involved shootings in Minneapolis and other areas of Hennepin County, Minnesota. Grassroots organizations such as Black Lives Matter-Minneapolis, Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar and others had been pressing for independent prosecution in such cases since at least November 2015 when 24-year-old Jamar Clark was killed. County Attorney Mike Freeman made the announcement in a March 16 press conference one day after his Chicago and Cleveland counterparts—both incumbents—lost re-election thanks in large part to protests by similar grassroots groups in those cities. Video of Freeman’s announcement is below the fold.
The grand jury is a secretive process that critics say allows prosecutors to hide and escape scrutiny for decisions that result in the non-indictment of police officers. Because grand juries can be used at the prosecutor’s discretion (for the most part) they are more often called upon in cases of police killings than by killings of the civilian public.
The grand jury process drew intense scrutiny, criticism and condemnation after the non-indictment of former Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson for the murder of Mike Brown. The prosecutor in that case, Bob McCullough, knowingly allowed witnesses to testify who were lying, and at least one juror sued to be able to speak freely about the case and their opinion of how McCullough manipulated the entire process to ensure Wilson would not be indicted.
After the fallout from Ferguson, California State Senator Holly Mitchell sponsored a bill that would ban the use of grand juries cases involving police and the use of deadly force. Governor Brown signed the bill in August of 2015, making California the first state to ban grand juries in police shootings.
Jamar Clark was shot during what police say was a scuffle with two Minneapolls police officers. The officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze, are both white, Clark was black. Police say Clark was grabbing hold of one of the officer’s guns; witnesses on the scene say that Clark was handcuffed and on the ground. Black Lives Matter-Minneapolis and others set up an encampment outside the 4th Precinct police station for 18 days demanding that charges be filed against Ringgenberg and Schwarze and that an independent prosecutor be utilized.
“We’re not satisfied until we get the police officers that killed Jamar Clark on November 15, we won’t be satisfied until they’re charged, either with 2nd degree murder, manslaughter or attempted murder. We wont be satisfied until the police are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Mel Reeves, a political activist and journalist with the Minneapolis Spokesman-Recorder.
“The no grand jury decision is a step in the right direction … but of course it guarantees us nothing. The Hennepin county prosecutor has never prosecuted the police in instances of police violence against the community. We want to keep the pressure on for prosecution, that is our goal,” Reeves said.