Lawsuit in Clark death seeks more than $20M

SACRAMENTO — The long-expected federal civil rights lawsuit in the March 2018 Stephon Clark shooting was filed Monday and seeks at least $20 million from the city of Sacramento and the two officers who gunned him down in his grandparents’ backyard.

The suit, which follows an earlier claim against the city seeking at least $35 million in the slaying of the unarmed 22-year-old black man, comes as Sacramento officials are bracing for the release of a report by District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert on whether Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet should face criminal charges in the incident.

The suit, filed in federal court in Sacramento on behalf of Clark’s minor sons, his parents and grandparents, alleges that the officers had no reason to use deadly force against Clark.

The suit also blames the city for failing to properly train its officers in the use of deadly force.

Sacramento police declined comment on the lawsuit, which comes after months of demonstrations, protest marches and boisterous City Hall meetings, and instead referred inquiries to the city attorney’s office.

City Attorney Susana Alcala-Wood issued a one-sentence statement: “Out of deference to the judicial process and because this is a matter of active litigation, we respectfully decline to comment.”