No charges for officers involved in shooting death of Jamar Clark

Officials in Minnesota on Wednesday decided not to charge two police officers in the November shooting death of Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old black man whose death set off weeks of protests in Minneapolis.

A Minneapolis police officer fatally shot Clark 61 seconds after the officer and his partner approached Clark on Nov. 15. 

Activists had for months said Clark may have been handcuffed, one of many issues they have with the way police handled the last moments of the man's life. 

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that accounts from police as well as the lack of bruising on Clark's wrists indicated that the officers didn't handcuff Clark.

Freeman said Clark reached for an officer's gun after that officer tackled Clark in an attempt to arrest him, after which Clark supposedly said, "I'm ready to die."

But activists at the press conference questioned why and how officers approached Clark in the first place.

Police were called after Clark's girlfriend was taken away in an ambulance following an altercation between her and Clark. She had suffered injuries to her face and ankle. 

Officers tried to grab Clark's wrists in an attempt to handcuff him. When Clark avoided the handcuffs, one officer tackled him. That, according to Freeman, is when Clark tried to grab the officer's gun. 

Activists felt Freeman was presenting the evidence to make Clark look like an aggressor. They took issue with Freeman's frequent references to Clark putting his hands in his pockets and the lack of video evidence to show that Clark was bothering EMTs, as Freeman said. 

The bottom line, an audience member said, is "we are leaving with more questions than answers."

Activists began protesting at the site of Clark's shooting death after the announcement. 

Minneapolis police dressed in riot gear showed up soon after, though have reportedly left the scene. 

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