Two weeks after the officer-involved shooting and killing of Jamar Clark, who was shot during an encounter with Minneapolis police early in the morning of Sunday, November 15, more details have emerged about the officers alleged to have been involved in the shooting. While the exact role of officers Dustin Schwarze and Mark Ringgenberg in the shooting of Clark is unknown, both officers have a history of police brutality lawsuits at other departments. CityPages reports on Schwarze:
On Dec. 11, 2011, Nathaniel Hanson and others left a bar for a gathering at a Richfield home, according to Hanson’s lawyer. As the group approached their destination around 2:30 a.m., their car was pulled over. The lawsuit claims that Schwarze pointed his Taser at Hanson and threatened to “beat the shit out of” them if they got out of the vehicle. However, Hanson — who was riding in the back seat — became confused when another officer later told him to get out.
“He was legitimately confused about whether this was sort of like a dare — come on, get out, we’ll see what happens — or was it a different order from a different officer,” says Tim Phillips, Hanson’s attorney. “So he hesitates, and right after he hesitates one of the officers punches him in the face.”
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After the initial punch, Phillips claims officers pulled Hanson out of the car and proceeded to “beat the shit out of him” as promised. While Hanson was on the ground with his hands above his head, Kinsey allegedly punched Hanson another nine times, according to the complaint. Gallatin is accused of kicking and stomping on Hanson several times. Gallatin now works for the St. Paul Police Department, while Kinsey still works in Richfield, according to their attorney.
Schwarze was not one of the cops who “kicked or stomped or punched my client,” the lawyer says. Instead, Schwarze allegedly tased Hanson in “drive-stun mode” — a so-called pain compliance technique in which the Taser can deliver several prolonged shocks. According to the complaint, Schwarze also zapped a fellow officer in the leg. Phillips says Hanson maintains he was not resisting the officers.
