 Image from Clark's Facebook account | |
| Date | March 18, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Time | c. 9:30 p.m. (PT) |
| Location | 29th street, Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 38°28′56″N 121°28′23″W / 38.48222222°N 121.47292°W |
| Type | Homicide by shooting, police killing |
| Cause | Gunshot wounds |
| Participants | Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet (shooters) |
| Deaths | Stephon Clark, aged 22 |
| Inquiries | Use of force investigation |
| Coroner | A forensic pathologist hired by Clark's family said Clark was shot eight times, including six times in the back. The Sacramento County Coroner's report said he was shot seven times, three times in the back; the Sacramento County Coroner's report was later reviewed by four forensic pathologists. |
| Charges | None |
In the late evening of March 18, 2018, Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old African-American man, was shot and killed in Meadowview, Sacramento, California by Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, two officers of the Sacramento Police Department in the backyard of his grandmother's house while he had a phone in his hand. The encounter was filmed by police video cameras and by a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helicopter which was involved in observing Clark on the ground and in directing ground officers to the point at which the shooting took place. The officers stated that they shot Clark, firing 20 rounds, believing that he had pointed a gun at them. Police found only a cell phone on him. While the Sacramento County Coroner's autopsy report concluded that Clark was shot seven times, including three shots to the right side of the back, the pathologist hired by the Clark family stated that Clark was shot eight times, including six times in the back.
The shooting caused large protests in Sacramento, and Clark's family members have rejected the initial police description of the events leading to Clark's death. The Sacramento Police Department placed the officers on paid administrative leave and opened a use of force investigation. Police have stated they are confident that Clark was the suspect responsible for breaking windows in the area prior to the encounter.
On March 2, 2019, the Sacramento County district attorney announced that the Sacramento police officers who killed Clark would not be charged and that they had probable cause to stop Clark and were legally justified in the use of deadly force.[1][2]
- ^ Real, Jose A. Del (March 2, 2019). "The New York Times, No Charges in Sacramento Police Shooting of Stephon Clark, March 2, 2019". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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