Shot in the Back Seven Times

UPDATE: 4.4.18: I’ve listened to a number of Black protestors who talked about the “great guy” and “decent family man” Stephon Clark was. Nobody has explained why he was running through backyards. Was he breaking in homes? Faith Linthicum, a California nurse, was fired from her job after suggesting Stephon Clark deserved to be killed by police and has now raised over $20,000 from a GoFundMe campaign to pay her bills.

“Yeah but he was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples houses … why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid.”

Faith wrote about herself, “I’m a United States Military veteran who served as a medic, and then fulfilled my dream taking care of people by becoming a nurse. I was recently fired from my job as a nurse at Kaiser Permanente for exercising my First Amendment right to free speech. I am a proud supporter of this great Country, the First Amendment, the rule of law, and law enforcement.” She believes Kaiser Permanente violated her First Amendment right to free speech to protect themselves from the wrath of activists.

Original Post

Police have a difficult job — probably the most difficult job in America. They are generally understaffed and overworked. Citizens are rarely helpful, and in most cases, insanely critical. Yet the growing cowardice among police officers is disturbing. I have documented the repeated failures of police in my area. History will remember the name of Scot Peterson, the Broward County sheriff’s deputy, who failed to pursue Nikolas Crus into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland when the crazed young man executed 17 people.

President Trump, who received numerous deferments that kept him from serving in Vietnam, claimed it was “disgusting” the deputy didn’t go into the school. Ironic coming from a privileged rich boy who weaseled his way out of the draft, of course. Peterson has now said he “thought that the shots were coming from outside” when the gunfire first erupted and that’s why he “took up a tactical position.”

On March 18, two Sacramento Police Department officers responded to reports of someone smashing car windows in the neighborhood where Stephon Clark’s grandmother lived. At approximately 9:30pm, they opened fire on Clark outside his home, shooting at him 20 times. Clark, the 22-year-old father of two, was hit eight times — seven times in the back. An eighth bullet hit him in the leg.

Police shot a guy seven times in the back! How is it possible they “feared for their lives”? The thermal image video shot from a police helicopter overhead provides the detailed history. In the screen shot below, we see two officers rounding the corner of the house.

In the second screen shot, we see Officer A grab Officer B and pull him to safety.

In the third screen shot, it’s clear both officers have taken a defensive position behind the corner of the house. They were not at risk. There was no reason to “fear for their lives.”

At approximately 1:03 seconds into the video, one can see a flash from one of the officer’s guns (yellow line) as he fired at Mr. Clark. Police reports claim one of the officers believed he saw a weapon and cried out, “Gun! Gun, gun, gun!” It appears Mr. Clark is facing the house (red line).

The image below shows the coroner’s report that Dr. Bennet Omalu prepared showing the bullet wounds. It’s possible the first shot hit Mr. Clark in the left lower leg, which would be the 8th wound and not visible on the illustration below.

The screen shot below comes immediately after the last one at 1:03. Muzzle flash is not visible in this frame and both officers are secure behind the corner of the house. Police reported they fired 20 rounds — as Mr. Clark allegedly “advanced on them with an object in his hand.” It’s clear in the video Mr. Clark did not advance on them. He stood still — motionless — almost as if he didn’t know they were there.

The next screen shot comes at 1:05, just two seconds after the first shot was fired by one of the officers. Mr. Clark had fallen to the ground. Multiple muzzle flashes can be seen on the video during this time. Mr. Clark had only a cell phone with him. He didn’t have a gun or weapon. The first shot brought him down, yet officers continued to fire on him.

The next frame, at 1:07, shows Mr. Clark face down on the patio. Both officers remain in an offensive position. Muzzle flashes and ricocheting bullet are visible in the video. Although the officers claim they “thought” they saw a weapon, they were wrong. It’s difficult at night to see clearly, yet they were never fired upon. The first shot hit Mr. Clark and he fell to the ground. At no point did Mr. Clark assume a threatening posture or advance toward them. Mr. Clark was assassinated.

By 1:13 in the video, Mr. Clark was down for good. The two officers stand and walk toward him. The coroner reported, “Death took three to 10 minutes. It was not an instantaneous death.” The coroner said his findings indicated Clark was not facing the officers when he was shot, “During the entire interaction, he had his back to the officers, not his front.” The video supports the conclusions from the independent coroner.

It remains unclear what Stephon Clark was doing that night. His family owes the nation an explanation. Police received complaints and responded to a 911 call about a man who was breaking car windows. Police said they pursued a man — later identified as Clark — who hopped a fence into his grandmother’s property. I could be in such a situation. If I heard glass shattering, I might grab my cell phone and rush to investigate.

His brother, Stevante Clark said, “I want people to know all he cared about — more than anything else in life — was his children. His children meant most to him.” Was he protecting his neighborhood or rummaging through cars?

Bodycam footage of the incident released by Sacramento police showed officers failed to immediately render aid after firing at Mr. Clark. The independent coroner wouldn’t say whether he might be alive had officers provided medical attention as soon as Mr. Clark was shot, but added, “Whether you’re fatally wounded or not, you should receive immediate and timely medical and surgical intervention.”

In the footage, someone can be heard telling officers to mute their body cameras. The comment comes about seven minutes after Mr. Clark was shot multiple times. This action has raised suspicion within the community.

Conclusions

First, officers are too quick to assume someone has a gun or weapon.

Second, officers are overly zealous to fire their service weapon.

Third, officers train in the use of deadly force, rather than shooting an alleged perpetrator in the leg or shoulder.

Fourth, once officers engage, they shoot a ridiculous number of times. Twenty times was too many in this case. There have been reports of hundreds of shots fired in other cases.

Fear, arrogance, lack of training and a wanton disregard for human life appears to dominate police forces across the nation. I know there are highly professional, caring and courageous officers in the service to America. Unfortunately, the cowardly and poorly-trained leave too many citizens dead, while tarnishing the reputation of the majority of good officers and destroying the fabric of trust between citizens and America’s police.

It’s time to rid America of the Bad Apples. Police departments and citizens have suffered enough. Please leave your comments below and be sure to FOLLOW ClearHeath Life Strategies. We provide News of the News You Wish You Knew.