DOUBT ON COP STORY
Unarmed man shot in back: kin’s autopsy
Police in Sacramento, Calif., shot Stephon Clark seven times from behind, according to autopsy results released Friday by a pathologist hired by Clark’s family, a finding that calls into question the department’s assertion the 22-yearold black man was facing officers and moving toward them when he was killed.
Dr. Bennet Omalu, whose study of a degenerative brain condition in football players prompted the NFL to adopt new safety rules, also determined that it took Clark three to 10 minutes to die. Police waited about five minutes before rendering medical aid.
“The proposition that has been presented that he was assailing the officers, meaning he was facing the officers, is inconsistent with the prevailing forensic evidence,” Omalu said at a news conference with family attorney Benjamin Crump.
Sacramento police responded with a brief statement that said the department had not yet received an official autopsy report from the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.
The Sacramento Police Department said the coroner’s death investigation is independent of the investigation by police and the state Department of Justice.
A day after the March 18 shooting, police distributed a press release that said the officers who shot Clark “saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands.”
Police video of the shooting doesn’t clearly capture all that happened after Clark ran into his grandmother’s back yard.
He initially moves toward the officers, who are peeking out from behind a corner of the house, but it’s not clear if he is facing them or that he knows they are there when they open fire after shouting, “Gun! Gun! Gun!”
After 20 shots, officers call to him, apparently believing he might still be alive and armed. They eventually approach and find no gun, just a cellphone.
The shooting has produced almost daily angry but peaceful protests in the downtown area of California’s capital city.
The autopsy heightened calls for justice and skepticism toward police among community activists.
NBA stars Vince Carter, Garrett Temple and Doug Christie, a retired player, were planning to appear Friday night at a youth forum as part of a new partnership with the Build. Black. Coalition and Black Lives Matter Sacramento to increase education and workforce training for black youth.
Former Sacramento Kings player Matt Barnes attended the funeral and helped pay for it.
“Generally speaking, part of the outrage in the community is not only for this shooting but it’s for all police shootings that are happening of unarmed people,” said Dale Galipo, another Clark family lawyer. One of the big questions we all have to ask is: ‘What do we need to do for these shootings to stop?’ ”
Black Lives Matter Sacramento protested Friday night outside City Hall with other actions planned. “You’ll probably see a little bit of everything,” said community activist Berry Accius. “But that’s not for me to say; it’s for the people to decide.”
The autopsy was released a day after an emotional funeral service. The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy and praised demonstrators for their restraint and urged them to follow the lead of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his advocacy of nonviolence.