DOJ Condemns Minneapolis Police Handling Of Jamar Clark Protests

The U.S. Department of Justice released a federal report Monday detailing problems with the Minneapolis, Minnesota police response to the 18-day protesters standoff that followed the 2015 shooting death of Jamar Clark, reports ABC News.

From ABC News:

…the Justice Department review found a lack of a coordinated response among city and police officials and said law enforcement didn’t have a plan for managing the civil disturbance as it became a long-term event.

“Strained relationships, lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities, public disagreements and lack of consistent internal communication” hampered the response, it said. And it said the department “experienced multiple breakdowns in internal communications and messaging” during the occupation.

Jason Sole, president of the Minneapolis NAACP, asked the mayor and police chief how Clark and his family were ever going to get justice, and he said police violence against black men continues. “Jamar should still be alive. … Does that report show that we’re dying out here?” Sole said.

The report — based on a review by the DOJ’s Community Oriented Police Services (COPS) office — also found that the Minneapolis police department lacked “adequate department-wide training on crowd management, negotiated resolution, de-escalation, the use of personal protective equipment or the use of less-lethal instruments prior to the occupation,” reports USA Today.

SOURCE: ABC News, USA Today

No Discipline For Minneapolis Cops In Shooting Death Of Unarmed Jamar Clark