An Absence of Justice...Will It Ever End?

     America has always taken pride in the slogan "justice is blind" regarding its legal system but with that belief, philosophy...ideal, much injustice not only exits in the "land of the free" but it is all-too-prevalent in a land where all men are to be treated "equal under the law". Such an injustice was inflicted on 24 year-old Jamar Clark. On the night of November 15, 2015, justice turned a blind eye on the Life and, quite possibly, the Civil Rights, of this young man. In 61 seconds, many lives changed forever...and not for the better. And that injustice has been compounded by the Hennepin County attorney's office.
     One particular finding of that office I find glaringly off-base and I take exception with it...and quite strongly.
     After the shooting, Officer Mark Ringgenberg stated to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) that once he and Mr. Clark fell to the ground, with Mr. Clark pinned beneath him (Ringgenberg's back against Clark's stomach), he felt his gun shift from his hip to the small of his back. Ringgenberg also claimed he felt Clark's hand on his gun and he said to his partner Officer Dustin Schwarze, "He's got my gun." Based on my experience with police duty rigs, this scenario is impossible.
     Many years ago I participated in police combat matches in Tucson, Arizona. Competing against various law enforcement officers, including city, county, state, and federal, as well as civilians, I can attest to the fact that duty rigs DO NOT shift as Ringgenberg claimed. For his claim to be valid, his duty belt, with holstered weapon, cuff case, clip pouch and assorted other equipment and keepers, would have had to move 90 degrees; about 8-9 inches. And all within perhaps 45-50 seconds.
     My duty rig, which I still have, is virtually identical to those worn by the above mentioned officers (and many civilians). The outfit includes a standard duty belt, holster (rigidly fitted on the belt and immovable) for a Colt .45 semi-automatic pistol, dual clip pouch and the customary four keepers. Not once, in all of the combat matches I participated in (and countless hours of practice), did my duty belt come loose from its moorings. Not once did I see any other rigs come loose.The friction from the belt itself, along with that produced from the clip pouch, were factors in stability. But it was the four keepers I wore (two in the front and two in the back) that were far more instrumental in having the weapon stay where it was supposed to. And that's what they're supposed to do. They keep the whole unit in one place, preventing it from riding up when sitting, bending, stooping or getting in and out of a patrol car. You don't want to have to continually adjust the rig and you don't want to have go "searching" for your weapon when you need it most nor have someone come up behind you and quickly turn it around!
     As to the mechanics of "keepers," mine are double snap-button in nature. Made of narrow pieces of  heavy leather 3/4 inch wide, they wrap quite snugly around the trouser belt and duty belt; once fastened in place, they hold the two belts securely together. With a duty belt correctly and comfortably fitted around the waist and the keepers properly placed near a trouser loop, the duty belt/trouser belt combination cannot move but maybe an inch in either direction and that's only because of a slight give in the unit. But 90 degrees and eight or nine inches? No.
     It's also been established during the inquiry that Ringgenberg had ten such keepers securing his duty belt. The BCA investigator was apparently surprised at this but did not pursue the subject. So, given how keepers are supposed to work and the presence of other equipment attached to a duty belt, that poses a problem. Also, my understanding of the inquiry indicates there was no reenactment of the events to verify Ringgenberg's claim. That in itself muddies the waters regarding Ringgenberg's recollection of the events.
     But how did Clark end up behind Ringgenberg in the first place? Why didn't Ringgenberg quickly get to his feet rather lying on Clark for those crucial seconds?  And even IF Clark had been able to shift the gun a few inches, how could he have managed to squeeze the holstered weapon and his hand between his body and that of the officer lying on top of him? Logically, Clark would have had better luck trying to seize Ringgenberg's weapon while it was still his hip.
     It is self-evident that in just over a minute, two trained police officers lost control of the situation involving Jamar Clark. These officers were unable to subdue an intoxicated man (0.09 Blood Alcohol Concentration) who also had THC (the active compound of marijuana) in his blood stream. Justice failed...again.
     Shakespeare wrote, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Well, something certainly is rotten in the Minneapolis-area "legal system" and somebody better put an end to that stench...and soon.