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Crime, Law and Justice
Brandt Williams
Minneapolis

Minneapolis council approves $200K award to Jamar Clark's family

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Jamar Clark
Undated photo of Jamar Clark.
Javille Burns via AP 2015

Updated: 4:45 p.m. | Posted: 3:32 p.m.

The Minneapolis City Council voted Friday to approve a $200,000 settlement payout to the family of Jamar Clark who was killed by a police officer in 2015.

Council members met for about a half an hour in a closed door session. They voted unanimously to approve an agreement which includes money for Clark's father James and eight other family members.

In a press release, a representative from the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar said the settlement amount was too low. They'd been calling on the city to match the $20 million payment it made in the case of Justine Ruszczyk, a white woman shot and killed by an officer in 2017. Clark was African-American.

One of the coalition's list of demands is for the city to pay out $20 million to all families of people killed by police officers.

Council President Lisa Bender offered condolences to the Clark family in a statement Friday. She acknowledged that the amount may not help the community move toward healing, but added “this settlement does reflect the efforts of Council Members who pushed the City, with my support, to respond with compassion and a broader sense of justice than current laws may define.

”The pain of Jamar’s death still reverberates through our City and we have much more to do to move forward together toward healing and justice – from state laws to the Police Officers Federation contract, city policies and budget investments – we need to keep working tirelessly to change the status quo policing and legal systems that are not working for so many,” Bender said.