Police Fired 20 Times at Innocent Man After Confusing iPhone With Gun: Protest in Sacramento
The 23-year-old was only holding his cell phone when he was fatally shot on March 18 by two police officers who fired 20 times at him in Sacramento, California. Relatives, activists and Sacramento officials are questioning why police shot at an unarmed man in his grandparents backyard.
Stephan Alonzo Clark was killed as Police wrongly believed was he was armed. The 23-year-old was only holding his cell phone when he was fatally shot on March 18 by two police officers who fired 20 times at him in Sacramento, California. The department later reveal that the two officers were responding to an emergency call about a man who was found breaking vehicle windows; but they encountered Clark thinking that the object was a gun which was actually his iPhone. Relatives, activists and Sacramento officials are questioning why police shot at an unarmed man in his grandparents backyard.
His grandmother, Sequita Thompson was quoted in The Sacramento Bee saying, “He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own backyard? C’mon now, they didn’t have to do that.” Police in its defence said that the man was spotted breaking a neighbour’s sliding glass door. Both the officers chased him into the backyard of his grandparents’ home, where he was staying. The department further said that Clark refused orders to stop and show his hands. He advanced toward the officers holding an object extended in front of him and that is when the officers thought he was pointing a handgun and opened fire for their safety. When more officers arrived, they only found the cell phone near his body.
The incident led to a protest at the Sacramento streets and public spaces on March 22 shouting ‘Shut it down’. This prompted police to shut down admission to the popular Sacramento Kings game. The Sacramento Bee reported that hundreds of protesters formed a human chain preventing thousands of fans from entering the ground doorways.
Here is what Sacramento Police tweeted.
Watch Sacramento Police Officers shoot Stephen Alonzo Clark dead.
The city enacted a regulation which has been in place since 2014 that required police to release footage no later than 30 days after an officer kills a citizen. The situation has left the family in shock. Just in suspicion, the police fired at Clark 20 times. Clark routinely helped care for his grandparents at their home in south Sacramento. He has two young sons Cairo and Aiden and a fiancée, Salena Manni, the family told the Associated Press.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 23, 2018 12:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).