Hodges confronted by demonstrators as she visits 4th Precinct
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Updated 10:30 a.m. | Posted 3:57 a.m.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges visited with demonstrators Thursday night outside the city's 4th Precinct police station, where residents angry about the police shooting of Jamar Clark have camped for nearly a week.
A police officer shot and killed the 24-year-old African-American man early Sunday.
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Hodges got a chilly reception as temperatures fell and gusty winds beat the sides of protesters' tents. One person told Hodges he felt terrorized by police.
Protester: "We as the people want to know what are you going to do?"
Hodges: "Do you want to know what I've been working on?"
Protesters: "No! What are you going to do? Answer the question that has been asked to you! See all this rhetoric! She works for them now!"
Hodges: "What I'm going to do is what I've been doing..."
Hodges then said she's gathering resources from around the city and country to help resolve longstanding issues of racial inequity. Protesters weren't satisfied with that answer, booing the mayor and saying her visit was only a photo op.
Rep. Ellison urges release of shooting video
Meanwhile Thursday, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., called for state investigators to release video that may shed light on the shooting death of Clark — a move not echoed by Hodges.
"I'm in favor of transparency and disclosure," Ellison said. "I urge the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Department of Justice to release video or audio recordings in their possession of the incident that resulted in Mr. Clark's death. This would send a message to our community that the process will be transparent and open."
Ellison urged protesters to focus their message on getting "justice for Jamar Clark" but urged them to keep their emotions in check. The group Black Lives Matter is also demanding that the BCA release video of the shooting
Harteau: 'We are dealing with anarchists'
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Police Chief Janee Harteau said some protesters threw Molotov cocktails, bottles and bricks at officers, and sprayed chemical irritants at them late Wednesday night. And she said demonstrators did thousands of dollars in damage to the police station, squad cars and portable cameras.
"We believe that we were dealing with anarchists based on the flag that we saw," she said. "We believe people from outside of our community are coming in to perpetrate violence. And as you know we have a history of helping to facilitate peaceful demonstrations. We've done it over the past several months and the past several years."
Minneapolis police made two arrests near the protests on Thursday night after profanities were spray painted on the precinct's walls.
Lt. Bob Kroll, the police union president, said the situation at the 4th Precinct has gotten out of hand and that officers are so busy guarding their workplace that police from elsewhere in the city have to handle routine calls for them. Read more.
On Friday morning, police removed three protesters from the Minneapolis City Council chambers during the first council meeting since the Clark shooting.
Several people affiliated with the group Communities United Against Police Brutality began disrupting the meeting. Michelle Gross, the group's leader, shouted demands for police accountability before she was removed.
National NAACP leaders will be in Minneapolis to lead a 4:30 p.m. vigil.
MPR News reporter Jon Collins contributed to this report.