Doctor hired by family says Sacramento police shot Stephon Clark 7 times from behind
SACRAMENTO, California -- A pathologist hired by attorneys for the family of an unarmed man named Stephon Clark who was killed by Sacramento police says an independent autopsy shows he was shot eight times, including seven times from behind and that it took up to 10 minutes for him to die.
Dr. Bennet Omalu told a news conference Friday that Clark was shot in the right back side of the neck and had a cluster of wounds in the upper right side of his back.
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The pathologist says any one of those wounds would have been fatal, and death would have taken three to 10 minutes.
Police have said Clark was facing and advancing toward officers who thought he had a gun when they fired, and then could not approach Clark for five minutes.
"The proposition that he was facing officers when he was shot is inconsistent with forensic evidence," Omalu said.
The pathologist says Clark also suffered an eighth gunshot wound to the thigh that occurred as he was falling or already on the ground.
On March 18, Sacramento police fired at least 20 rounds at Clark as he stood in his grandmother's backyard with a cellphone in his hand, something officers thought was a gun.
Funeral services were held Thursday for Clark where Reverend Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy while standing beside Clark's older brother. "We came for Stevante, we came for the family, we came because this boy should be alive today," Sharpton said.
The union representing Sacramento police called the deadly shooting "justified."
Protesters took to the streets again Thursday, calling for the officers involved to be held accountable
They claim Clark took a quote "shooting stance" when he was confronted in his grandmother's backyard.
