MINNEAPOLIS - A coalition of groups is calling for the Jamar Clark case to be reopened as well as the appointment of a special independent prosecutor.
The group includes the Minneapolis NAACP, Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar and Black Clergy United for Change.
At a news conference Monday, the group called for the case to be reopened due to witness statements that they say conflict with the official police report. The group disagrees with the evidence that Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman laid out during a news conference on March 30. He declined to indict the two Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark.
Minneapolis NAACP President Nekima Levy-Pounds introduced RayAnn Hayes who spoke publicly for the first time. Hayes is the woman who Freeman and police have categorized as Jamar Clark's girlfriend.
Hayes said she was "sick of the rumors" which is why she came forward. During the news conference, Hayes said about the night that Clark was killed, "I never got beaten. I never called the police and said I got beaten by my boyfriend. I don't even know where that story came from."
Hayes said that she never spoke to Freeman about the case and that she only remembers speaking to Chris Olson with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) for 'five minutes." She categorized her relationship with Clark as a "close friend." Hayes said, "my name should not have been brought up on the news...that's ridiculous and the story was fabricated and I think the news channels should have checked their facts on the story before they let it roll."Hayes said that Clark did want to come with her in the ambulance and even claimed to be her son, but that he did not bang on the windows or "go crazy."Hayes said she last remembers being heavily sedated in the ambulance. She said the pain medications she was on for her injuries said affected her memory for two days.“I don't remember anything after that, no one ever came to the hospital, no one,” said Hayes.The BCA's investigation records show, Hayes was interviewed by a female MPD officer at the hospital on November 15.In those transcripts, she said Clark "hit her" and "headbutted her" but later told the officer, "How can he beat me when I don't even know him?"On November 24, BCA records show an MPD officer interviewed the host of the birthday party, Nekelia Sharp, who said she believed Clark loved Hayes.“I can honestly say he loved her. From my, version of being in love with somebody, you know.”Fast forward to February 2016, BCA agent Chris Olson interviewed Hayes again, asking her if she was romantically involved with Clark. She said, "No."“I heard it on the news publicly the other day. I’m like, my boyfriend? A domestic? I didn’t know I was wanted like that. That’s why I didn’t come forward right away, I didn’t want the focus to be on me, I’m not the focus. The focus is on why they killed him,” said Hayes.
Teto Wilson, a witness to Clark's shooting, also spoke at the news conference. He too disagreed with the account of events. Wilson claims Clark didn't struggle beneath the officer who brought him to the ground nor reach for the officer's gun.Others at the news conference reiterated their desire for a special prosecutor. They also called for changes in training at the Minneapolis Police Department to help officers deescalate tense situations.RELATED: Jamar Clark timelineOn Monday afternoon, Freeman released a statement in direct response to the earlier news conference."Ms. RayAnn Hayes gave a number of statements about the events surrounding her call to 911 on November 15," the statement read. "In particular, she identified Jamar Clark as her assailant to the paramedics that night. Paramedic Haskell stated, 'the female, our patient, says that’s the guy that did this. He did this to me,' referring to Clark."Freeman said his office is aware that Hayes gave statements the night of the incident that Clark assaulted her, but months later claimed that she was not assaulted by him. "Additionally, some civilian witnesses who knew both Hayes and Clark characterized their relationship as being of a romantic or domestic nature," Freeman said."The prosecutor’s job is to answer the narrow question whether the police officers reacted unreasonably and without justification at the moment they used deadly force. If the answer to this question is that the officers acted reasonably in fear of their lives or lives of others, the prosecutor, under Minnesota Statutes and Supreme Court cases, cannot bring the criminal charges against them. I am convinced that if one reads the entire record available on-line and applies the mandated legal standard they will agree that no charges can be brought against the police officers," Freeman's statement concluded.