A 22-year-old unarmed black man was fatally shot in Sacramento by police after his cellphone was mistaken for a weapon.
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Stephon Clark was in the backyard of the home he shared with his grandparents when he was gun downed. The police department said they were responding to a report that a 6-Foot 1 man wearing a black hoodie and dark jeans was breaking car windows and hiding out in a backyard.
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Deputies in a helicopter spotted Clark in his backyard and reported that he had shattered windows. Police officers approached Clark and stated that he held an object and extended it towards them.
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“The officers believed the suspect was pointing a firearm at them. Fearing for their safety, the officers fired their duty weapons striking the suspect multiple times,” the police department said in a release. Clark was pronounced dead at the scene.
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During the incident, the grandmother was home and said, “The only thing that I heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, and I got to the ground.”
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The two officers were wearing body cameras during the shooting, as the footage is expected to be released. Two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave.
