A PATHOLOGIST HIRED by lawyers for the family of an unarmed man killed by Sacramento police says an independent autopsy shows Stephon Clark was shot seven times from behind and took up to 10 minutes to die.
Dr Bennet Omalu – who was portrayed by Will Smith in the film Concussion – told a news conference today 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.
The pathologist said 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 pathologist said Clark also suffered an eighth gunshot wound to the thigh that occurred as he was falling or already on the ground.
The news came after a funeral was held for the 22-year-old in Sacramento yesterday amidst high tension between the black community and police in California’s capital city.
Police in riot gear stood waiting outside the Golden 1 Center as fans wove through barricades and fencing yesterday to enter for a Sacramento Kings-Indiana Pacers basketball game.
But protesters never came, heeding calls from Stephon’s brother Stevante Clark and Black Lives Matter organisers to avoid the arena. Instead, they blocked rush hour traffic on nearby downtown streets.
The 18 March shooting of Clark by Sacramento police officers has sparked near daily protests downtown, with his name becoming a rallying cry for police reform in California and beyond.
Two officers responding to a call of someone breaking car windows shouted that Clark had a gun before firing 20 bullets at him, but he had only a cellphone.
Delivering Stephon Clark’s eulogy yesterday, the Reverend Al Sharpton praised demonstrators for their restraint and urged them to follow the lead of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr and his advocacy of nonviolent protest.
“I want the folks in California to know that there’s nothing wrong with how these young people are standing up,” he thundered. “They’re not being violent, they’re asking for you to stop being violent to them.”
More than 500 people packed into the church to celebrate Stephon Clark’s life, remembering his dance moves, smarts and love for his two young sons.
Stevante Clark interrupted the musical and scriptural celebration by hugging and kissing the casket, leading the crowd in chanting his brother’s name, pounding his chest and shouting. Others on the stage attempted to calm him, with limited success.
Sharpton hugged and consoled him and told the crowd not to judge how families grieve.
“This brother could be any one of us, so let them express and grieve,” Sharpton said. “We are proud of them for standing up for justice.”
The Sacramento Kings and their owner have been supportive of the Clark family.
The team announced plans to set up an education fund for Stephon Clark’s children and a partnership with Black Lives Matter Sacramento to bring “transformational change” to the city’s black communities.
Former Kings player Matt Barnes attended the funeral, as did Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who promised to work with Stevante Clark days after he disrupted a City Council meeting.
The protests have caused disruption, though largely peaceful, around the arena, a focal point of the city’s revitalisation efforts in a downtown that’s struggled economically and has a heavy homeless population.
Some businesses have been shutting down early while commuters have been snarled in rush hour traffic due to closed streets during the protests.
West Sacramento resident Onyeabo Aduba, 33, said he canceled reservations yesterday at a restaurant near the arena for his girlfriend’s birthday because of the protests. But Aduba said he’s supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement and frustrated that efforts such as requiring police to wear body cameras haven’t made real change.
He said the community’s level of support for the demonstrators has been surprising.
“Sacramento is more liberal than conservative but I think it’s a pretty neutral city,” he said. “I’ve been surprised by the amount of compassion from people.”
Turning the focus nationally, Sharpton and others chastised President Donald Trump for failing to comment on police shootings of young black men.
On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders was asked about the Clark shooting and demurred, referring to it as a local issue.
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