Sacramento police fired 20 shots at Stephon Clark last week, resulting in officers wounding the unarmed man six times in the back and eight times in total, lawyers for Clark’s family revealed Friday.
The Sacramento Bee reports that pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu performed an independent autopsy on Clark, 22. A statement said that Dr. Omalu located “four entry wounds in the lower part of Stephon’s back; one in the side of his neck, with an exit wound elsewhere in his neck; one in the back of his neck; one under an armpit entering from the side, with an exit wound on the other side of his body; and one in the outside of a leg.”
According to USA Today, Dr. Omalu said the first bullet hit Clark in the side, which caused his body to turn. The last gunshot wounded his thigh, suggesting that he was on the ground by the time officers stopped shooting, he said.
“You could reasonably conclude that he received seven gunshot wounds from his back,” Dr. Omalu said at a news conference on Friday, adding that each of those seven shots had the capacity to kill Clark on their own.
Dr. Omalu determined that none of the eight bullets that pierced Clark’s body entered from the front. Additionally, the doctor said Clark didn’t die instantly—he likely succumbing to his injuries within three to 10 minutes, according to The New York Times.
The time it took Clark to die is a point of contention, as dashcam footage of the fatal shooting apparently shows officers waiting up to six minutes to render life-saving CPR.
The Bee noted that Dr. Omalu is a former chief medical examiner in San Joaquin County, California, known for his work on football-related concussions.
“The proposition that he was facing the officers is inconsistent with the prevailing forensic evidence,” the pathologist said Friday, directly contradicting law enforcement’s account of the March 18 shooting.
“He was facing the house, with his left to the officers. He wasn’t facing the officers. His left back was facing to the officers.”
Dr. Omalu’s findings come a day after the 22-year-old’s funeral and as the public waits for the official coroner’s report.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Sacramento police claimed they believed that Clark was holding a gun on the night of question. At the time, police said they were responding to calls of a person breaking car windows nearby.
READ More: Bodycam catches moments leading up to fatal shooting of unarmed black man
During the 16-minute video, officers can be seen chasing Clark from a neighbor’s property into Clark’s backyard. Seven minutes in, an officer can be heard telling the suspect to show him his hands and stop.
“Gun, gun, gun,” an officer says seconds later, allegedly leading police to unload 20 bullets at the unarmed man.
(Video of Clark’s shooting death can be viewed in its entirety below.)
Though law enforcement claimed that they believed Clark was armed, the only item reportedly recovered from the scene was the slain man’s cell phone.
Sacramento is currently investigating the incident to determine if their officers violated any protocol. The Times reported that Chief Daniel Hahn recently enlisted the help of the California Department of Justice to quell concerns that their investigation is biased or impartial.
***WARNING: The video contains violence and offensive language. Please use discretion.***
[Featured Image: Stephon Clark/Facebook]
