Last year, 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot at least 7 times while he stood in his grandmother’s backyard. Clark was holding his cell phone at the time.
The officers, Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, had been dispatched over a vandalism complaint. After a brief chase from a side yard to the backyard of the home, police fired 20 rounds, killing Clark.
Now, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office has made it clear that they will not be charging the officers.
“Was a crime committed? There’s no question that a human being died,” said District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said on Saturday. “But when we look at the facts and the law, and we follow our ethical responsibilities, the answer to that question is no. And as a result, we will not charge these officers.”
Schubert said that there was probable cause to stop Clark, and that officers are legally justified to use deadly force “if the officer honestly and reasonably believes” he is in danger.
“We must recognize that they are often forced to make split-second decisions,” said Schubert. “We must also recognize that they are under tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances.”
Sacramento Police Chief Dan Hahn has promised an internal review into the actions of his officers, and that the officers could still get fired if they did not follow procedures, and claims he will share as much of the internal review as he can.
While Clark had fled officers, they claim that he was advancing on them and in a “shooting stance” before they fired. They also claim they saw a light from him, which they mistook as a muzzle flash.
An autopsy conducted on behalf of the family by Dr. Bennet Omalu showed that Clark was shot from behind, not from the front as police claim.
Body camera footage was inconclusive.
Family members also took Schubert to task for sharing multiple personal details about Clark, including a domestic violence complaint and Clark’s search history that included hunts for suicide options. Clark was also found with a number of drugs in his system.
“I can’t tell ultimately what was going on in his mind,” said Schubert. “He was in a state of despair and he was impaired, and that may have affected his judgment.”
Tanya Faison, the founder of Sacramento chapter of Black Lives Matter, criticized the release of the information to the Associated Press. Said Faison, “those officers didn’t know any of that when they had him in the backyard and they killed him.”
Schubert has apologized for offering up these details.
The press conference led to a protest and renewed calls for justice. Clark’s family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $20 million from the officers and the city.
Image from the Sacramento Police Department via YouTube.