Unarmed black man shot to death in own backyard after police mistake cell phone for weapon

[Demovictory9]

Police said Clark held an “object” that he “extended in front of him” as he approached two officers.

“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.

Police said Monday that the only item found near Clark’s body was a cell phone.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/unarmed-black-man-shot-death-backyard-article-1.3886562

[Princess Turandot]

1. This took place in Sacramento, CA...

...awful.

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

11. Yes, Princess Turandot. I live near the Airport & when I heard about this,

I was just SICK! ALL of these MURDERS by COP are NOT accidents. 1 is a mistake & 2 might just be HORRIFIC luck or lack of training but the way that these have not only been happening on the regular & with increasing frequency, represents a PATTERN!

[DFW]

2. "Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave."

From the report, it sounds like both officers should be placed in no-bail custody for murder.

"Object," my ass. "Fearing for their safety," my ass. The guy was in his OWN back yard holding a cell phone. I can't wait to hear why this made two armed cops fear for their lives.

[Cha]

4. It's so unbelievably sad.. they killed him

for nothing.

[DFW]

8. That is my point

"Nothing" is not on the list of reasons justifying a police officer's use of deadly force.

[Cha]

3. What's wrong with their

eyesight! Can't they tell the difference between a cell phone(Flat) and a gun!

They couldn't just shoot him in the shoulder or someplace non lethal.. they had to kill him for a cell.

[OkieLib41]

6. The sad part is

the report was they thought he had a "toolbar"....a damn toolbar! Not a gun . I'm sure that toolbar really had them fearing for their lives!!! 😠😠😠

[Cha]

9. OMG.. a really short toolbar.. and two of them.

Thanks, OkieLib.. I just figured they thought it was a gun, when they said they feared for their lives

[OkieLib41]

14. No problem Cha

It's just getting to the point now cops can use any excuse and not pay the consequences for murdering a person of color.

[Cha]

16. I know. it's

despicable sickening

[malaise]

5. This is murder

[pansypoo53219]

7. chicken shit cops. scaredy cats.

[ProfessorPlum]

10. I guess we should be grateful they didn't throw down a gun after they shot him

[Luciferous]

12. I'm so tired of this "fearing for their lives" BS. If they're so scared of everyone they

shouldn't be cops!!!

[Captain Stern]

13. I don't understand why this sort of incident even needs to be complicated.

The officers should receive at least the same punishment that I would if I did the exact same thing.

I'm pretty sure that if I shot someone that was unarmed because I "thought" their phone was a gun, I'd be in prison.

I think that the police, with their hundreds of hours of training, should actually be held to a higher standard than I would be, but as things stand they're actually held to a lower one. It's messed up.

[Locrian]

15. i think a lot of it IS the training....

From the number of shots, hair trigger, fear based - I think many of these cops are being conditioned by their training.



https://www.policeone.com/police-training/articles/125455-Competition-and-training-How-to-train-how-not-to-train/

"But, it is still a game and must be understood that it is only a shooting game. IPSC has evolved to a very exciting and competitive shooting sport. It has also become almost totally worthless as a means of testing your survival skills, and if you practice it on a routine basis, you are conditioning reflexive shooting techniques that couldwell be fatal to you if you try them on the street."