Dustin Schwarze & Mark Ringgenberg: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

mike ringgenberg, dustin schwarze

A Minneapolis police vehicle. (Minneapolis Police/Facebook)

Two officers involved in the shooting death of 24-year-old Jamar Clark in Minneapolis have been identified as Dustin Schwarze and Mark Ringgenberg, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.

Clark was shot early Sunday morning and died Monday night after he was taken off of life support. His death has led to days of protests after witnesses said Clark, who was unarmed, was handcuffed before he was shot in the head. Police say Clark was not handcuffed when he was shot.

The police union says Clark was shot after he tried to take a gun from one of the officers, KARE reports.

Police have not said which of the officers shot Clark, or if both fired.

Here’s what you need to know:


1. The Officers Were Responding to a Domestic Assault Call

The incident began early Sunday morning when police were called to James and Plymouth avenues in Minneapolis for a report of a domestic dispute involving Jamar Clark and his girlfriend.

Police say Clark was interfering as EMTs tried to get his girlfriend into an ambulance, and a struggle then began. During that struggle, according to police, Clark was shot by an officer.

Witnesses say Clark was handcuffed and knocked to the ground before he was shot, the NAACP says. Police have denied claims that Clark was handcuffed before the shooting, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

A video (watch it above) shows the aftermath of the shooting, as a crowd shouted at the police, with one person saying, “y’all just killed that man.”

According to police scanner audio, there was a large crowd at the scene before the shooting occurred.

You can listen to the police radio audio here:

Teto Wilson, a witness, was quoted by the NAACP as saying, Clark “was just laying there. He was not resisting arrest. Two officers were surrounding the victim on the ground, an officer maneuvered his body around to shield Jamar’s body, and I heard the shot go off.”

A family member says Clark was shot in the head “execution style,” the Star-Tribune reports.


2. They Have Both Been With the Minneapolis Police for 13 Months After Moving From Other Departments

According to the Star Tribune, Ringgenberg, 30, and Schwarze, 28, have both been with the Minneapolis Police Department for 13 months.

Both men have been officers for seven years total. The department released personnel files for both officers.

Schwarze last worked for the Richfield, Minnesota, police department. Read his file below:

View this document on Scribd

There are no awards, disciplinary issues or complaints noted in Schwarze’s file. Before working for a little more than five years in Richfield, Schwarze was a community service officer in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, for two years and a Mall of America security guard. He has an associate’s degree from Hennepin Technical College. He graduated from Armstrong Senior High School in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Ringgenberg was hired after working for three years and eight months with the San Diego, California, police department, and two years and five months with the Maple Grove, Minnesota, police department. Read his file below:

View this document on Scribd

There are no awards, disciplinary issues or complaints mentioned in Ringgenberg’s file. He was also a part-time police officer in Osseo, Minnesota. He graduated from St. Mary’s College im Minnesota in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.


3. Ringgenberg Was Sued for Excessive Force & False Arrest While He Was a San Diego Cop

According to federal court documents, Mark Ringgenberg was sued for excessive force and false arrest in 2012, while he was a San Diego police officer. He was sued by Fred Clark Jr., a Bergenfield, New Jersey, man who was arrested while he was in San Diego in 2010.

Clark was in San Diego to attend his sister’s wedding, according to the court filing. He was in downtown San Diego at about 2 a.m., with his wife and brother, when an unidentified man stumbled into him, Clark said. After an exchange of words with the man, a group of men tried to start a fight. While Clark was trying to step away to get out of the argument, he was “violently grabbed from behind by Officer Ringgenberg.” Clark said Ringgenberg didn’t identify himself as an officer.

Ringgenberg locked Clark’s arms behind his back, looping his arms through Clark’s elbows in “double arm bars.” Clark said he was afraid he was going to be attacked by someone with the group that had confronted him, and created space by leaning back and pushing his hips forward, he then spun his arm free from the hold and began to run away. He then turned around and realized he was being chased by police. He stopped, and tried to talk to the officers and was taken into custody.

Clark also accused Ringgenberg of wrapping his arms around his neck and squeezing “violently,” after he had been tackled to the ground by another officer. He said Ringgenberg slammed his head into the concrete and rubbed his face on the concrete.

Clark claims that video showed that Ringgenberg and the other officer made several “erroneous statements” in their incident reports. He said Ringgenberg falsely claimed the following: that he saw Clark push one of the unidentified males, that Clark looked at the officer before running away, that he told Clark to put his hands behind his back, that Clark pushed him, that Clark approached him in an “aggressive fighting stance,” and the “Clark kept throwing me off of his back as I was trying to apply the cartoid restraint.”

Using the video obtained of the incident, Clark was found not guilty during a jury trial.

Both the city and Clark filed a joint motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit in 2013, which was approved by the judge. Clark told KGTV he dropped the case because of legal costs.


4. They Are on Paid Leave While the Shooting Is Investigated

Jamar Clark, #Justice4Jamar, #JamesandPlymouth, Jamar Clark minneapolis, minneapolis police shooting victim

Jamar Clark was shot by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sparking protests. (Kenya McKnight)

Police said the wo officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid leave, KARE-TV reports.

The shooting is being investigated by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is part of the state Department of Public Safety.

Police union president Lt. Bob Kroll told the Star-Tribune that the two officers met with investigators from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Tuesday night.

They had not previously spoken with investigators about the shooting.

Kroll previously said, told Fox News 9, “We’ve got confidence in the BCA. Our officers are cooperating with the process. We want people to remain calm. Let the investigation be completed. I am confident in the end, our officers actions will be justified.”

“I want to acknowledge that this is a very difficult situation for everyone involved: For members of our community, members of the Minneapolis Police Department and their families, and for the people that are standing here beside me,” Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau said. “”We need to know exactly what happened. We need to know the truth. Everyone involved needs that and deserves that.”

Police said there are no videos that show all of the incident. Video was captured from the Elks Lodge, located near the scene, and a nearby public housing complex, but it is incomplete. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has said it will not release the video while the investigation is ongoing, despite pleas from protesters and Clark’s family for them to do so.

The officers were not wearing body cameras and the shooting was not recorded on dashboard cameras, police said.


5.Protesters Have Camped at the Precinct Where the Officers Work

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Protesters gathered at the intersection where the shooting happened on Sunday, and then marched to the Minneapolis Police Department’s 4th Precinct. Led by the local NAACP and Black Lives Matter, a group has “taken over” the outside and lobby area of the precinct. Police also gathered at the scene Sunday night.

Protesters have said they are willing to stay at the precinct as long as it takes to get justice and have their demands met.

According to a Facebook post, they are demanding five things. They want to see footage from the incident, they want an independent investigation (not by another police agency), they want the media to cover eye-witness testimony (not just the police’s point of view), they want full community oversight with full disciplinary power and they want officers to live in the communities they serve.

On Monday, protesters blocked traffic on a nearby highway, according to Fox 9 News.

Police arrested 43 adults and 8 juveniles after 300 protesters blocked I-94, the news station reported.