Stephon Clark Shooting (2018)
The Stephon Clark shooting refers to the fatal incident involving a twenty-two-year-old African American man, Stephon Clark, who was shot and killed by two police officers in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2018. This controversial event arose when officers responded to a report of vandalism and confronted Clark in his grandparents' backyard. Initial police accounts suggested that Clark was armed, leading to the officers firing approximately twenty shots; however, it was later confirmed that he was unarmed and holding only a cell phone. The shooting sparked significant protests in Sacramento, highlighting issues of police brutality and accountability.
In March 2019, the Sacramento County district attorney announced that no criminal charges would be filed against the officers involved, a decision that triggered further demonstrations and public outcry. Federal authorities also concluded that there was insufficient evidence for civil rights charges against the officers. The case contributed to ongoing debates about police use of deadly force in California, resulting in Governor Gavin Newsom signing legislation in August 2019 aimed at revising police standards regarding such force. Amidst these developments, Clark's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officers. The incident remains a pivotal moment in discussions about racial justice and police reform in the United States.
Stephon Clark Shooting (2018)
Date: March 18, 2018
Place: Sacramento, California
Summary
The Stephon Clark shooting was an incident in which two Sacramento, California, police officers shot and killed a twenty-two-year-old African American man, Stephon Clark, in March 2018. The case became controversial because of the use of deadly force although it was later found that Clark was unarmed, and autopsies as well as various crime scene analyses differed on the number of times Clark was shot and from what position; criticism also focused on the length of time it took to get Clark medical attention after he was shot. The shooting was followed by protests in Sacramento. In March 2019, the district attorney for Sacramento County announced that the decision had been made not to seek legal action against the officers responsible for Clark’s death. In September of that year, it was announced that, after review, federal officials had not found sufficient evidence to file civil rights charges against the officers.
Key Events
- March 18, 2018—Two Sacramento police officers responding to a report of vandalism shoot and kill Stephon Clark in his grandparents’ backyard.
- March 22, 2018—Demonstrations temporarily disrupt traffic on Sacramento’s Interstate 5 and block access to a Sacramento Kings game held at a local arena.
- March 2, 2019—Office of the Sacramento County district attorney announces that no charges will be filed against the officers involved in Clark’s death.
- March 5, 2019—California attorney general Xavier Becerra announces that the state will not pursue charges against the officers.
- August 19, 2019—California governor Gavin Newsom signs bill raising the standards for police use of deadly force.
- September 26, 2019—Federal authorities announce they will not file civil rights charges against the officers.
Status
Debates over the issues of police brutality and the use of deadly force, exacerbated by the fatal shooting of Clark as well as whether the officers involved should face any legal accountability, continued into the second half of 2019. The state of California made a change to policing policy in an attempt to reduce such incidents. Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in August that restricted police officers’ use of deadly force to times when it is deemed necessary rather than reasonable. In September 2019, as the city of Sacramento agreed to pay $2.4 million to the two children of Clark, federal authorities also announced that they would not be filing civil rights charges against the officers involved in the shooting.
In-Depth Overview
On March 18, 2018, police in Sacramento, California, received a 911 call indicating that an unidentified man was breaking car windows on a street in the city’s Meadowview neighborhood. According to reports, a helicopter involved in the search identified a suspect and directed two officers, later identified as Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, to the suspect’s location. The officers located the suspect, later identified as Stephon Clark, near the front yard of a home that was later revealed to be the home of Clark’s grandparents. Confronted by police, Clark allegedly ignored an order to stop and fled into the backyard. At that point, Clark stopped and reportedly approached the officers, holding an object in his hand that was later revealed to be a cell phone. Police reports were unclear on the incident, as the officers initially voiced their belief that Clark had been armed with either a gun or whatever implement he had used to allegedly break car windows in the neighborhood. When Clark reportedly approached, the two officers opened fire. After the shooting, activists became involved when it was revealed that Clark had been unarmed at the time of his death and police videos of the incident were publicly released. It was soon announced that an investigation would be conducted to determine why so many shots had been fired and why less lethal methods had not been used.
Beginning on March 22, protesters led by a local chapter of the Black Lives Matter activist group gathered and marched onto Interstate 5, where traffic was briefly shut down. The protest eventually temporarily blocked the entrance for people attempting to attend a Sacramento Kings game at a local arena. Such protests continued for several days, with members of Clark’s family giving press statements and calling for the officers involved to be punished for their actions. Shortly thereafter, California attorney general Xavier Becerra announced that the State of California Department of Justice would also look into the incident. By May, the investigations had shown that the officers fired approximately twenty times, but autopsies, including an independent autopsy ordered by Clark’s family and the official coroner’s autopsy, produced conflicting reports about how many times Clark was shot and from which positions. Protests continued sporadically throughout the remainder of 2018, with Black Lives Matter staging a major protest on the six-month anniversary. Also in response, in January 2019 Clark’s family launched a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento and the officers for wrongful death in the shooting of Clark.
In early March 2019, Sacramento County district attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced that her office would not seek charges against the officers responsible for shooting Clark and issued a statement claiming that the office’s internal investigation indicated that the officers believed that Clark was armed with a weapon when they approached him in the backyard of his grandparents’ home in March of the previous year. According to the report produced by Schubert’s office, Clark fled from police after being told to stop, continued into his grandparents’ backyard, and turned towards the officers with an object in his hand. When he approached, the officers believed they had seen a weapon and opened fire. In a press conference, Schubert confirmed that DNA evidence indicated that Clark had been the one police were notified about breaking car windows and a sliding glass door in the neighborhood in the hours leading up to the confrontation.
After Schubert’s announcement, a series of protests were held in Sacramento during which police arrested more than eighty protestors. Members of the public and activists involved in organizing the protest confronted police at a city council meeting on March 5, the same day on which Becerra announced that he also would not be pursuing charges against the officers. Schubert later released a statement that her office would not file charges against any of the protestors arrested at the event.
Key Figures
Xavier Becerra: Attorney general for the state of California.
Stephon Clark: Sacramento man shot and killed by police on March 18, 2018.
Terrence Mercadal: Police officer involved in the shooting of Clark.
Jared Robinet: Police officer involved in the shooting of Clark.
Anne Marie Schubert: District attorney for Sacramento County.
Bibliography
Croft, J. (2019, September 27). Federal officials decline to charge officers in fatal shooting of Stephon Clark. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/27/us/stephon-clark-federal-civil-rights/index.html
Karimi, F. (2019, March 7). Officers who killed Stephon Clark reveal new details about the night he died. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/07/us/sacramento-stephon-clark-shooting/index.html
Lockhart, P. R. (2019, January 29). Stephon Clark’s family filed a $10 million lawsuit against the police officers who shot him. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/1/29/18202459/stephon-clark-sacramento-police-wrongful-death-lawsuit
Nugent, C. (2019, March 5). Police detain 85 at Sacramento protest over Stephon Clark shooting. Time. Retrieved from https://time.com/5543712/85-arrested-stephon-clark-protest/
Romero, E. D., Moffit, B., Mitric, J., Miller, N., & Bandlamudi, A. (2018, March 22). Protests grip Sacramento: Demonstrators overtake freeway, block fans from Kings game as police shooting of Stephon Clark draws national headlines. Capital Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.capradio.org/articles/2018/03/22/protests-memorials-continue-in-sacramento-as-police-shooting-of-stephon-clark-draws-national-attention/
Stanton, S. (2019, March 2). Timeline of the Stephon Clark police shooting, and what happened after. The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved from https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article226111890.html