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No charges for Minneapolis officers in shooting

Posted at 12:19 PM, Mar 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-30 12:44:35-04

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two Minneapolis police officers will not be charged in the fatal shooting of a black man last November.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced his decision not to charge Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze in the shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark on Wednesday. Ringgenberg is white; Schwarze’s race has not been released.

Clark was shot by police Nov. 15 during what authorities called a struggle. But some people who say they saw the shooting have said Clark wasn’t struggling and was handcuffed. Clark died a day later.

Clark’s shooting prompted protests in Minneapolis, including an 18-day encampment outside a north side police precinct.

Earlier this month, Freeman announced he wouldn’t call a grand jury to decide whether the officers should be charged. Public skepticism over grand juries, whose work is secret, grew after officers in three high-profile shootings of blacks weren’t indicted recently.