Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges Requested A Civil Rights Investigation

Mayor Betsy Hodges has requested to open civil rights investigation into the killing of Jamar Clark. The mayor of Minneapolis has asked the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into the police shooting of Jamar Clark, a young black man whose potentially fatal injuries have led to protests.

Mayor Hodges made the request following a day of demonstrations by activists who say that Clark, 24, was unarmed and in handcuffs when a police officer shot him in the head. Protesters made a series of demands including an independent federal inquiry.

“We need all the tools we have available,” said Hodges at a press conference on Monday evening. Stressing that she supported the decision and that it should not be seen as an admission of any wrongdoing, the Minneapolis police chief, Janeé Harteau, said: “Everyone involved needs and deserves the truth and the facts.”

Clark was shot early on Sunday morning after allegedly struggling with officers. Police said that after assaulting someone minutes earlier, he returned to the scene, “confronting paramedics and disrupting their ability to render aid” to the assault victim.