EDINA, Minn. (AP) - Edina officials have released three police dashcam videos that show the aftermath of an incident involving a white police officer and a black man from Minneapolis.
The release of the dashcam videos Friday comes three days after city officials apologized for the incident that was captured in a bystander video posted on social media, the Star Tribune (https://strib.mn/2errJJq ) reported.
The bystander video shows police Lt. Tim Olson grabbing Larnie Thomas by the back of his jacket and reprimanding him for walking in the street near a construction zone Oct. 12. The footage released Friday does not show the man walking in the street nor the confrontation between Olson and Thomas.
Thomas was cited, but the city dismissed the citation Monday even though it said Olson followed protocol.
One of the dashcam videos shows Thomas sitting in the back of a police cruiser. He can be heard asking an officer if he is going to jail. The officer then says he doesn’t know and is “trying to get things figured out.”
“I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong,” Thomas later says. Thomas then explains to the officer that he was walking on the white line that separates traffic from the shoulder where cars park.
On Saturday, about 75 people marched in Edina to protest issues of racial profiling and police brutality against black men. The peaceful protest began with speeches and chants, before rally-goers blocked an intersection for about 40 minutes.
The rally was planned after the incident involving Olson and Thomas and before organizers were aware of Friday’s announcement by the Minneapolis Police Department that two officers would not be disciplined for the fatal shooting a black man in November.
Chief Janee Harteau said Friday that an internal investigation found the officers were warranted in using deadly force in the death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark. Clark was shot in the head on Nov. 15 in a confrontation with Officers Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze - both white - on the city’s north side. His death set off protests that lasted several weeks, including an 18-day encampment around the area’s police precinct.
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Information from: Star Tribune, https://www.startribune.com
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