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Officers Who Shot Black Man During Struggle Won’t Face ‘Discipline’

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Amber Randall Civil Rights Reporter
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The two officers involved in the shooting of a black man who allegedly tried to take an officer’s gun will not face discipline, according to the  Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).

The investigation found that the shooting did not breach MPD policy and the officers will not face any criminal charges, reports CBS Minnesota.

“The officers will not be charged criminally and we have concluded there were no violations of MPD policy,” police Chief Janeé Harteau announced Friday at a press conference.

Police shot Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old black man, Nov.15, 2015. He suffered from a gunshot wound to the head and was taken off life support two days later.

Police maintain that they were responding to a call about an assault. When they arrived on the scene, they found Clark interfering with paramedics as they attended to his girlfriend, who alleged Clark assaulted her. (RELATED: Black Lives Matter OUTRAGED Minneapolis Cop Will Not Face Charges)

According to Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman, Clark tried to reach for an officer’s gun and told them, “I’m ready to die.”

Black Lives Matter protesters maintained that Clark was in handcuffs and not resisting at the time he was shot, a claim for which there was no evidence. The Department of Justice declined to bring forth criminal civil rights charges against the officers, saying there was “insufficient evidence.”

“After an extensive review of this entire incident, I have concluded that these officers did not dictate the outcome of this incident,” Harteau continued. “This was an outcome that no one wanted.”

Albert Goins, the attorney for Clark’s family, expressed disappointment with the announcement. He maintained that the investigation was not “thorough or  full-fledged.”

“I’ve represented police officers. They can be disciplined for very little. There is even a disciplinary procedure for using improper language towards a citizen. In this case they took this young man’s life in under 60 seconds,” Goins said to CNN. “The conclusion is just amazing. They took this man’s life without cause. They weren’t going to in any way to implicate themselves in any wrong doing.”

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