Justice 4 Jamar calls for settlement akin to Justine Damond's

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Outside of the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis, members of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar demanded the city treat Jamar Clark’s family with the same care as Justine Damond’s.

“We want Jamar Clark’s family to get a settlement equal to what Justine’s family got,” said Angel Smith-El.

After former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was found guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for fatally shooting Damond in 2017, the city agreed to a $20 million settlement with her family. 

“No amount of money will bring beloved community members back, but if Justine’s life is worth $20 million, so is Jamar’s,” Smith-El said.

According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, on Nov. 15, 2015, Jamar Clark got into a physical fight with his then-girlfriend at a party on the 1600 block of Plymouth Avenue. Injured after the fight, the woman called for an ambulance. She then identified Clark as the man who injured her ankle.

Paramedics then radioed for police back-up after Clark became belligerent and tried to interfere with the woman’s care.

“This with Jamar has been going on for four years now, and there’s still nothing done,” said James Clark, Jamar Clark’s foster father.

Investigators said once on the scene, police attempted to handcuff Clark, but he resisted, reached for the officer’s gun and said, “I’m ready to die.” 

James Clark says the loss haunts him daily.

“They killed him right on the spot,” James Clark said. “There’s no justice for black people; white people get all the justice.”

The officers involved in Clark’s shooting death were not charged. The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office also looked into Clark’s case. They reached the same conclusions Hennepin County Attorney Mike

Freeman and the BCA did. Meanwhile, the city will mediate further with Clark’s family Tuesday.