Tag Archives: Stephon Clark

Celebrity tweet puts new focus on Stephon Clark shooting

Posted on

One tweet from actress and fashion model Kim Kardashian-West has shined an international spotlight on the case of Stephon Clark, an unarmed man who was fatally shot by Sacramento police during an encounter two years ago.

Earlier this month, Kardashian-West tweeted about the March 2018 case to her 6.5 million followers on the social network, urging her fans to sign a petition demanding justice for the man’s killing.

“Kim Kardashian understands that the officers who killed my brother in my grandmother’s backyard while he was unarmed should be held accountable,” Stevante Clark, the brother of Stephon Clark, told CBS13 News in an interview.

Clark was shot as he fled from police officers who were investigating a report of a man looking into car windows. Police said they had reason to believe Clark was armed when he was shot; what was thought to be a firearm turned out to be Clark’s cell phone.

Last March, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert declined to file charges against the two officers connected to the shooting.

In an interview with FOX40 News in May, Sacramento defense attorney Mark Reichel said county prosecutors rarely charge police officers because their positions are elected and cases brought against police officers can be difficult to win.

“It’s better [for county prosecutors] to not bring it than to lose a high-profile case and, obviously, officer-involved killings are always high-profile,” Mark said.

More than a year later, police shootings of unarmed men — particularly those who are Black — have captured the attention of a nation. Following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis, police accountability has become a rallying cry in large cities and small towns across the United States.

It has also led some activists and celebrities, like Kardashian-West, to ask for justice in cases with a copious amount of unfinished business.

“I think Kim Kardashian’s involvement will help this substantially,” Mark told CBS13 News in an interview. “I think this is a major platform. Stephon Clark’s murder is well known around American anyways and when you add Kim Kardashian to that, that platform is spread out far and wide.”

Mark said if voters choose a different district attorney in the next election, that prosecutor could elect to bring charges against the two officers. Federal officials could also bring charges, Mark explained, because “there is actually no double jeopardy between the state and the federal government.”

Click here to read the full story from CBS13 News

Why aren’t more police officers charged when people die?

Posted on

Eyewitness video of police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd sent shockwaves throughout the United States and sparked demonstrations in major cities across the country, including an organized protest in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood on Friday.

Their message: Police need to be held accountable for their actions and brought to justice.

It’s extremely rare for police officers to be charged when a person dies as the result of a law enforcement encounter. In Sacramento, similar protests were sparked after police officers shot and killed Stephon Clark, a 23-year-old black man who was not armed when he was confronted by officers.

After a year-long investigation, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert declined to file charges against the officers involved in the Clark case.

“There was no justice or accountability for my brother,” Stevante Clark, the brother of Stephon Clark, said at Friday’s rally, according to a report. “I think we have to wait to see how this plays out to see if George Floyd gets justice because at the end of the day, transparency with accountability means nothing.”

So why aren’t more law enforcement officers charged when people die during police encounters?

“The main reason is no prosecutor, for political reasons and to get reelected, ever wants to lose a high-profile case,” Sacramento criminal defense attorney Mark Reichel told FOX40 News. “It’s better to not bring it than to lose a high-profile case and, obviously, officer-involved killings are always high-profile.”

Prosecutors typically bring cases they feel they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt, legal experts say, and juries are typically more likely to believe police officers acted out of self-defense or a sense of danger when presented with conflicting evidence or testimony.

But the video evidence in George Floyd’s death showed precisely the opposite. The videos published earlier this week didn’t just triggered protests — they also led to calls for an investigation and charges from law enforcement groups across the country.

That evidence, prosecutors in Minneapolis said, was key in bringing charges against Chauvin.

“This is by far the fastest that we’ve ever charged a police officer,” Mike Freeman, the top prosecutor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, said at a press conference.

Late Friday afternoon, U.S. Attorney William Barr said the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were also investigating whether Floyd’s civil rights were violated.

“Both state and federal officers are working diligently and collaboratively to ensure that any available evidence relevant to these decisions is obtained as quickly as possible,” Barr said.

Click or tap here to read the full story from FOX40 News

Mark Appears as Expert During FOX40’s Special Coverage on Stephon Clark Decision40’s special coverage of Stephon Clark decision

Posted on

Mark offered his insight and legal expertise during FOX40’s extensive coverage of the Stephon Clark shooting case.

On March 2, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert decided against criminally charging several Sacramento Police Department officers in connection with the death of Stephon Clark last year.

Clark, 23, was shot as he fled from officers during an encounter in Sacramento’s Meadowview neighborhood on March 18, 2018. He was not armed at the time of the shooting.

“For a long time, there’s been calls for an independent branch of the government that will investigate and prosecute police misconduct shootings,” Mark said. “… There’s a lot of ways this could have been handled better.”