Activists and the family of a black man fatally shot by Minneapolis police are preparing to protest a prosecutor’s decision not to criminally charge the officers.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman declined Monday to charge Officers Justin Schmidt and Ryan Kelly, who shot 31-year-old Thurman Blevins after chasing him into a north Minneapolis alley last month. The decision came one day after the release of a video of the shooting appeared to show Blevins point a gun at the officers.
Blevins’ family argues Blevins wasn’t a danger to the officers while running away. They plan to call for the officers’ firing and arrest at a Tuesday afternoon protest in Minneapolis.
The officers were responding to a 911 call of a man firing a gun into the air. Freeman said the officers’ actions were justified because Blevins was armed, disregarded police commands and pointed a gun at them.