By AMY FORLITI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minneapolis city leaders told a federal judge Wednesday that they will work with a court-appointed mediator to try to settle a lawsuit filed by the father of a black man who was killed by police in 2015.

U.S. District Judge Michael Davis summoned attorneys to court on Wednesday after he received an email saying the City Council rejected an offer to settle the case over the death of Jamar Clark. The decision not to settle came on the same day the city announced that it agreed to pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit over the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond.

"The court wants to have a full understanding of where it's going and what's occurred," Davis said of the case. "The court is not knowledgeable about what's going on."

The deaths of Damond and Clark unfolded under different circumstances.

Damond, who was white, was shot by a police officer when she approached his squad car minutes after calling 911 to report a possible rape in the alley behind her home. That officer, Mohamed Noor, was convicted of murder. Last week, Frey cited the murder conviction, along with Noor's failure to identify a threat before using deadly force, as reasons for the large payout to Damond's family.

The 24-year-old Clark was shot in the head after a struggle with two officers. The Hennepin County attorney declined to bring charges, saying an investigation found Clark was shot after trying to get an officer's gun.

William Starr, the attorney for Clark's father, James Clark, said in court that the settlement offer in his case was "nominal" and was made before the settlement was reached in the Damond case. He said he believes race is a factor in how the two cases were handled differently and he now wants a "transformative settlement" - echoing language used to describe the Damond settlement. He also said the case could go to trial, but agreed to continue to negotiate.

Starr also said he would file motions to resolves some legal issues. After Wednesday's hearing, he explained that since James Clark is Jamar Clark's adoptive father and there are several siblings, he has to file a motion to settle next-of-kin issues.

James Clark also said race is a factor.

"We just want justice," he said. "(Jamar) definitely didn't deserve that from police when they are supposed to serve and protect. ... They don't care about a black person."

Mayor Jacob Frey, City Council President Lisa Bender, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, City Attorney Susan Segal and Councilman Jeremiah Ellison appeared in court Wednesday.

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