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No Charges For Two Cops Who Shot Jamar Clark

No Charges For Two Cops Who Shot Jamar Clark

Prosecutors have cleared two white Minneapolis police officers who shot dead an unarmed black man last year.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze would not face charges in the killing of 24-year-old Jamar Clark on 15 November.

Mr Freeman made the final decision after opting not to hand the case to a grand jury, a common procedure in other high-profile police shootings.

The prosecutor said the officers had been in fear for their lives as Mr Clark tried to get control of one of their guns.

He said traces of Mr Clark's DNA had been found on the grip of one officer's weapon.

"This case is not at all similar to some of those seen around the country," Mr Freeman said.

"These officers were called upon to respond to a person who had assaulted his girlfriend and interfered with paramedics who were trying to assist her."

Mr Clark was shot in the head as police responded to a domestic dispute between him and his girlfriend on the north side of Minneapolis.

Authorities said a struggle ensued when officers arrived at the scene and tried to calm Mr Clark as paramedics were helping his girlfriend.

Some who said they saw the confrontation asserted that Mr Clark wasn't struggling and that he was handcuffed.

But the prosecutor said those 12 witness accounts differed, and the two officers testified that they had been unable to handcuff Mr Clark.

Mr Freeman said forensics had determined Mr Clark was not handcuffed when he was shot, with no evidence of bruising on his wrists.

The prosecutor also said 10 paramedic or law enforcement witnesses had testified that Mr Clark wasn't handcuffed.

Officer Ringgenberg is white; Officer Schwarze's race has not been disclosed.

The prosecutor faced sharp questions from members of the public after the announcement.

An unidentified woman called Mr Freeman's account "propaganda" and said it didn't include enough from citizen witnesses.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges acknowledged that "many people are feeling hurt, anger, disappointment, frustration".

But she urged protesters to exercise their rights peacefully.

Three groups are planning to protest against the decision later on Wednesday.

Mr Clark's death sparked weeks of protests in Minneapolis.

Court documents cited by local media state he had convictions including terroristic threats last year and an aggravated robbery in 2010.