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Video:Sacramento Pigs Shot Unarmed Black Man in His Yard 20 Times. Update:The DA won’t file charges

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article206557539.html

Names of officers in Stephon Clark shooting released by civil rights attorney

The names of the two officers who shot Stephon Clark in Sacramento on Sunday were released Friday by a prominent civil rights attorney in Oakland.

A representative from the law office of John Burris in Oakland said that the two officers who fired 10 shots each at Clark were Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet.

The Sacramento Police Department declined to confirm the names. Department spokeswoman Officer Linda Matthew said the officers involved in the shooting have received "numerous" threats.

"Based on the threats we do know about, it would be careless of us at this point to release the names," Matthew said.

Mercadal had been identified to The Sacramento Bee by a separate source on Thursday. He was identified then as an African American man who had attended Laguna Creek High School in Elk Grove and was known as a patrol officer in the Meadowview neighborhood where Clark was shot.

An online search confirmed a Terrance Mercadal graduated from Laguna Creek in 2003.

Melissa Nold, an attorney with Burris' office, said she watched the police videos with family on Wednesday prior to their public release. She said at that time the lapel name tags of the officers were not blurred, as they were in the public release of the video, and she noted the names.

Nold said her law office decided to release the names Friday because they believed it was in the public interest.

"When we have that information and the public doesn't, we think its important to get that out," Nold said.

The Sacramento Police Department previously said it intended to release the names within 10 days of the shooting, which happened five days ago.

According to a search of online information and interviews, Mercadal previously served in the Olive Branch Police Department in Olive Branch, Missouri, about 25 miles from Memphis. He ran a personal training company as well before moving to California following a divorce in 2014.

Mercadal also worked as a limited-term community service officer in Sacramento in 2015 after a short stint as a police officer trainee that year in Oakland, according to Transparent California.

Robinet joined the Sacramento Police Department in 2014. He made $125,144, including overtime pay and benefits, in 2016, according to Transparent California's public employment salary database. Mercadal, who was hired in 2016, made $73,261 that year.

John Burris is a high-profile civil rights attorney who specializes in police accountability cases. He represented the family of Joseph Mann, a black man with mental illness and addiction issues who was shot by Sacramento Police in 2016 while carrying a pocket knife. Burris' ultimately settled that case with the city of Sacramento for $719,000, but the incident sparked significant police reforms in the city, including a video release policy that mandates the release of police video in critical incidents within 30 days of the encounter.

Nold said that Burris is not representing the family of Stephon Clark, but assisted them in the first days after the shooting.
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http://www.modbee.com/news/state/article206742849.html

Kings and Celtics to wear Stephon Clark shirts on Sunday. 'These things have to stop.'

The Kings and Boston Celtics will wear shirts bearing the name of the unarmed man who was killed by Sacramento police when they meet Sunday at Golden 1 Center.

The black warm-up shirts have "Accountability. We are One" on the front and "Stephon Clark" on the back. Kings players spearheaded the idea; the Celtics organization offered their support.

Clark, 22, was holding a cellphone when he was shot and killed late on March 18 in the backyard of his grandmother's house in south Sacramento. Officers, responding to reports of a man breaking car windows, fired at him 20 times.

Protesters demonstrating against Clark's fatal shooting formed a human chain around Golden 1 Center before Thursday's game against the Atlanta Hawks, delaying tipoff and preventing thousands of ticketholders from entering. The team said it will issue refunds.

After the game, Kings principal owner and chairman Vivek Ranadive addressed the sparse crowd, calling the shooting "horrific" and vowing the Kings would use their platform for positive change.

Kings veteran guard Garrett Temple, who is out with a sprained ankle, said he'll wear his shirt under his suit jacket.

"It's something that I think we can use our platform, like Vivek said, to support and try to create change," said Temple, who after Thursday's game said he agreed with the protest. "Because no matter how you look at it, these things have to stop, one way or another. Us being on the national stage, we have a way to try to push our support towards change, and we're going to try to do that."

Players from both teams also filmed public service announcements that will air during Sunday's game.

It's not the first time players have used shirts to express a message in the name of social justice.

In 2014, the Kings and players around the league wore shirts that read "I can't breathe" to remember Eric Garner, who died after a chokehold was applied to him by New York Police Department officer Daniel Pantaleo.

Some of the most prominent protests have come in the NFL, which has come under fire for its response to them.

President Donald Trump last September called on NFL owners to fire players who protest during the national anthem. Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began the protest in the 2016 preseason, first sitting on the bench, then taking a knee, during the anthem. He went unsigned all last season and filed a collusion lawsuit; 49ers starting defensive back Eric Reid, who also knelt during the anthem, has seen little interest on the free agent market this offseason.

The NBA has been more receptive to players using their platform to encourage change, something Kings coach Dave Joerger said he supports.

"It's out of love and concern and what they're feeling," Joerger said. "I'm always going to support the players, even if I agree or disagree in any different things, I think that's one and two, that we do it together."

Temple, who is active in the Sacramento community and stays abreast on issues across the country, said what Ranadive did Thursday was important.

"I'm very proud of what Vivek did," Temple said. "He lost money because people couldn't come into the arena. ... But for him to go out after that game and support the protest and show there are things bigger than basketball, and show support publicly as he did, that speaks volumes to his character. "

When Ranadive addressed the crowd Thursday, players and management stood midcourt with him. Temple said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the Celtics were quick to reach out.

That is what makes the NBA unique, Temple said.

"Our NBA league is a league that I really am proud of," he said, "and that, I understand, wouldn't happen in a lot of other leagues."
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http://www.abc10.com/article/news/l...nt-on-shooting-of-stephon-clark/103-532223111

Sacramento Police Officers Association issues statement on shooting of Stephon Clark

The Sacramento Police Officers Association post went on to describe that the shooting of Stephon Clark was a tragedy, which affects the entire community.

The shooting of Stephon Clark was justified under the law.

That's according to Timothy Davis, the Sacramento Police Officers Association President, who over the weekend, posted his thoughts on the association’s Facebook page.

“Even as tragic as this event is, we cannot ignore the fact that the shooting was legally justified under the law, within police policy, and in accordance with training," Davis wrote on Facebook. "Sacramento Police Officers were called to the location after a citizen witnessed Clark breaking out car windows."

Davis went on to write that Sacramento police value life and took an oath to protect the community.

“No officer ever wants to take a life,” Davis continued.

Sacramento Police officers responded to reports of a man breaking in cars on the 7500 block on 29th Street in Meadowview around 9:15 p.m. During a neighborhood sweep, officers identified at least three vehicles with damage that was believed to have been caused by the man they were looking for, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

They also found a shattered sliding glass door in a house adjacent to Clark's grandmother's home.

Sacramento Sheriff's Department deputies assisting by helicopter said they saw the suspect break the door with an object described as a "toolbar." The deputies in the helicopter said the man was later seen running towards the front of the home, stopping to look inside another car. The helicopter then helped lead the police officers to the backyard of Clark's grandmother's house, where they saw Clark along the side of the home.

After finding Clark along the side of the house, the two officers involved said they asked Clark to show his hands, but he then ran to the backyard of the house. The police officers said they saw Clark facing them, advancing forward with his arms extended while holding what they perceived as a toolbar. The object was later determined to be a cellphone.

One of the officers shouted “gun, gun, gun,” several times to the other, Davis mentioned. The officers fired, fearing for their safety, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

“They perceived this as a deadly threat and fired on Clark to save their own lives,” Davis said. “It is clear from the video that they truly believed that Clark had a gun. The officers reacted to the threat they perceived and that their actions are legally justified,” Davis said.

He went on to say that the concerns and focus following the events of March 18 should be on reviewing the policies, procedures, and training rather than the actions of the individuals officers.
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http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article206778434.html

Stephon Clark's family pastor says community shouldn't 'punish the good officers'

Bayside of South Sacramento Church prides itself on having a close connection with both its community and its police. And twice a year, the congregation hosts dinners for Sacramento police officers.

But in the wake of the March 18 fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark, the grandson of a member of the congregation, Pastor Darryl Scarbrough said some congregants were asking if that tradition would continue.

It will, he said Sunday, because it's critical that the relationship fostered by the church remains intact.

"There are people who do good things and people who do bad things," he said in an interview with The Bee between services. "There are officers who do good things and officers who do bad things. We can't punish the good officers for the actions of those that may be bad. So we're still going to (have the dinners)."

Scarbrough said his chief goal now is for his flock to show love and support for Sequita Thompson, Clark's grandmother, and her family.

"She is our first priority because she's family. And so our concern and our responsibility is to her and that family first as they grieve," he said.

Thompson had attended the 11 a.m. service at the church known as BOSS last Sunday, hours before Clark was killed. She told a Bee reporter she’d returned home and shown Clark a video of his younger sister dancing to gospel music.

Clark, 22, was shot by two officers who were searching for a man suspected of breaking windows in the neighborhood. They encountered him on the 7500 block of 29th Street and chased him into Thompson’s backyard. He was carrying a cellphone, which the officers mistook for a gun before firing 20 shots at him.

Police video released days after the encounter shows that the officers and their backup waited at least five minutes before getting Clark first aid, not realizing that he was unarmed.

Scarbrough’s sermon reminded the congregation of God’s love for all creatures. He urged people to focus on the injustices in the system, rather than condemning individuals within it.

He also encouraged members of the congregation to protest if they feel they need to, but asked them not to “break anything.”

In the interview, Scarbrough emphasized the need for dialogue between the community and the police.

"The only way any relationship solves conflict is through communication, and you can't communicate if you're not connected," he said. "So even in the hardest of times, relationships are fixed by having tough conversations."

On Thursday, protesters shut down Interstate 5 during rush hour before turning their attention to the Golden 1 Center. Forming a human chain, they blocked ticket holders from reaching the arena for the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Atlanta Hawks.

On Sunday, before an afternoon game, members of the Kings and the Boston Celtics wore shirts in Clark’s honor. Former Kings players DeMarcus Cousins and Matt Barnes have offered to pay for Clark's services.

The shooting and subsequent days of protest have brought national attention to California’s capital city. The Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader and host of an MSNBC show, said Sunday he intends to be present when Clark is laid to rest on Thursday.

Clark’s family has retained attorney Ben Crump, who represented the families of other high-profile police shooting victims, such as Michael Brown and Tamir Rice.

Crump, fellow attorney Dale Galipo and Clark’s family will hold a press conference Monday morning in front of Sacramento’s federal courthouse.

Scarbrough said Sunday that Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn called him a couple of days after the shooting to make sure the family had a safe space to grieve.

He said actions like that make him believe that Sacramento has a chance to set an example for the rest of the country.

"I think that once the dust settles a little bit that we'll be able pull off something that the nation hasn't seen," he said.
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Kumbaya...
 
Jesus....he didnt bother to use non-lethal methods......everybody be careful out there because I really don't know what else we can do
 
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livew...ce-shooting-deaths-of-black-men-a-local-issue

White House Calls Police Shooting Deaths Of Black Men A ‘Local Matter’

The White House on Wednesday responded to questions related to the police shooting deaths of African-American men by saying the incidents should be handled locally and avoiding offering any specific comment from the President.

During the press briefing Wednesday, American Urban Radio Networks’ April Ryan asked about President Donald Trump’s response to two such incidents recently: the Louisiana attorney general’s announcement Tuesday that no charges would be filed against the two police officers who wrestled Alton Sterling to the ground outside a Baton Rouge convenience store in July 2016, one of whom shot and killed Sterling; and the recent police killing of Stephon Clark in his grandmother’s backyard in Sacramento, California, despite Clark being armed with only a cell phone.

“Certainly a terrible incident,” Sanders said, referring to Clark. “This is something that is a local matter, and it’s something that we feel should be left up to the local authorities at this point in time.”

Ryan pressed, seemingly determined to get the White House on record against unjustified police violence.

“But what does he feel about that?” she asked. “He was strongly behind police, he supports police, as much of America does, but wants to weed out bad policing. What does he say about weeding out bad policing when you continue to see these kinds of situations over and over again?”

“Certainly we want to make sure that all law enforcement is carrying out the letter of the law,” Sanders replied. “The President is very supportive of law enforcement, but, at the same time, in these specific cases, in these specific instances, those would be left up to local authorities to make that determination, and not something for the federal government to weigh into.”

“There’s one more large case that’s still lingering,” Ryan added. “Eric Garner, that cried out 11 times, ‘I can’t breathe.’” What of the family’s continued demands for justice?

“I’m not aware of any specific action,” Sanders said. “Once again, these would be local matters that should be left up to the local authorities.”

NBC News’ Kristen Welker tried again later: “With respect, this seems to be an entire issue that the country is grappling with, these tensions between communities of color and police departments. Does the President not need to show leadership on this issue?”

“When the President has talked about a number of issues, we want to find ways to bring the country together,” Sanders said, veering off into unrelated issues before returning to her previous point: “When it comes to the authority to— On the rulings that have taken place in the last few days, those are things that have to be done at a local level and they’re not federal decisions at this point in time.”

Welker said many African-American mothers felt as if “their sons are dying.”

“Doesn’t the President feel like he needs to do something about that?” she asked.

Sanders avoided the issue entirely, speaking in terms of general public safety, school shootings and illegal immigration.

“I think we should do every single thing we can, every single day, to protect the people of this country,” she said. “I think the President — whether they’re black, white, hispanic, male or female, rich or poor, we look for ways to protect the individuals in this country, particularly children.”

Among the reporters shouting their next questions, April Ryan tried again: “This has been happening for hundreds of years, though! This is a national issue!”
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Everything is “all white” according to the Trump Administration...
 
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