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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2018)
March 28, 2018 The Skanner Page 9 News Sacramento Residents Demand Answers in Stephon Clark Killing ANTONIO R. HARVEY/THE SACRAMENTO OBSERVER Sacramento Police Dept. Under Fire for Shooting Death of Stephon Clark, an Unarmed Black Man Hundreds converged on Sacramento’s city hall last Thursday in protest of the police-involved shooting of Stephon Clark, 22, who was killed in South Sacramento Sunday, March 18 by two officers who mistook a cell phone he was holding for a gun. Protesters, led by activists with Black Lives Matter Sacramento, left city hall and proceeded to move onto Northbound I-5, shutting down the busy highway just before the evening commute. By Genoa Barrow Sacramento Observer/ NNPA Member SACRAMENTO—An- gry and frustrated res- idents are demanding answers after a police-in- volved shooting left an unarmed, Black man dead last week. Stephon Clark, 22, was fatally shot in his Meadowview area backyard Sunday, March 18 after two Sacramento Police Department (SPD) officers shot at him more than 20 times. Local law enforcement officers were in the area after re- ceiving a 911 call about a man suspected of break- ing into vehicles in the area. A Sacramento County Sheriff ’s Department helicopter spotted a man they believed to be that suspect, described as be- ing 6’1”, thin, and wear- ing a black hoodie and dark pants, in a backyard and they directed SPD officers on the ground to that location. Helicopter personnel also communicated to officers that the suspect had picked up a “toolbar” and broke a window to a residence. Officers who had been canvassing other yards, eventually entered the front yard of a home on the 7500 block of 29th Street and observed Clark, along the side of the residence. Officers commanded Clark to stop and show his hands. According to a statement released by the SPD, the officers say Clark turned and advanced towards them while “holding an object which was extended in front of him.” The offi- cers said they believed Clark was pointing a gun at them and, “fearing for their safety,” they fired their duty weapons. Police admit they only found a cellphone, not a gun or a “toolbar,” on the scene. On Wednesday, March 21 the SPD released video footage of the interaction from the body cameras worn by both officers, as well as audio from the initial 911 calls and dispatch. Chief Daniel Hahn, the city’s first Af- rican American police chief, has vowed to be transparent in such in- cidents since he took the position last year. Sacra- mento City Council poli- cy on Police Use of Force mandates that the SPD release video and audio associated with police-in- volved shootings to the public within 30 days. The policy was adopted after a mentally ill Black man, Joseph Mann, was shot and killed by SPD of- ficers in Del Paso Heights in 2016. The three-day turn around in the Clark shooting is much quick- er than has happened in years past. “SPD acknowledges the seriousness of this in- cident and the impact it has on our community,” reads one of two state- ments on the shooting, released by the SPD last week. “We are committed to providing timely infor- mation, communicating openly, and working di- rectly with our commu- nity, so that they have a full understanding of what occurred,” the state- ment continues. The body camera vid- eos are each about 17 minutes long. While neither officer has been identified, one appears to be White or Hispanic and the other African American. In the graphic video, the officers don’t appear to identify them- selves as police officers, but simply say, “Hey, show me your hands, gun” and seconds later “Show me your hands, gun, gun gun,” before one shoots off 10 rounds and the other, at least 11. Officers waited five minutes for backup to arrive and can be heard telling Clark, who was unresponsive, to show his hands. One officer tells another to grab a “non-lethal” from a police vehicle so they can “hit him a couple of times with that” be- fore approaching him. When officers did ap- proach Clark’s body, he was laying face down on the ground. They hand- cuffed him and began CPR. He was pronounced dead on the scene by the Sacramento Fire Depart- ment. The use of non-lethal weapons, such as rifles that shoot bean bags at suspects, were part of re- forms fought for by local activists after the Mann incident and the shooting death of another Black man, Dazion Flenaugh; the mandatory use of body cameras was also part of the reforms. “You authorized non-lethal weapons. Why weren’t non-lethal weapons used in this in- stance?” Richard Owen, co-chair of the Law En- forcement Accountabil- ity Directive, asked of the city council during a meeting where the Ste- phon Clark shooting inci- dent was discussed. Owen continued: “Did Mr. Clark really have to die? It doesn’t seem that way to the community.” Owen, a retired school principal, also ques- tioned why officers wait- ed before attempting to save Clark’s life. While Owen said he’d hold off for the video to reveal the facts, he addressed some of the most salacious ru- mors that have been cir- cling in the community regarding the shooting. “If this man was shot in the back and shot 20 times, that’s excessive force without question,” Owen said. Chief Hahn, who was at the meeting to read an official SPD statement, and answer questions, said those elements of the incident are current- ly under investigation. Family members are also asking why the body cameras were muted for a period of time. Black Lives Sacramento leader Tanya Faison also spoke out at this week’s city council meeting. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com
