Stephon Alonzo “Zoe” Clark (1996?-2018) was an unarmed Black American man who was shot dead by police in his backyard. That was on the night of Sunday March 18th 2018 in Sacramento, the capital of California:
Show your hands! Gun! Gun! Gun!
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG
[Clark falls to his knees]
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG,
BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG[Clark falls forward]
Clark does not move, but police are too afraid to come any closer because he refuses to show his hands.
They wait five minutes till backup arrives. Then they put on handcuffs. Only then do they give him medical attention – but it is too late.
They search for the gun, but there is no gun – only a white iPhone lying next to his body.
Meanwhile his grandmother, inside the house, hears the shooting and calls the police. The police question her for several hours. They do not tell her who is lying dead in the backyard. Then she looks out the window – and screams.
How it all started: The police received a report that someone in a hoodie was breaking car windows. A police helicopter saw Clark in a hoodie in his backyard. They said they saw him break a house window with a “toolbar”.
The police account:
“The officers gave the suspect commands to stop and show his hands… The suspect turned and advanced towards the officers while holding an object which was extended in front of him. 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 magic words: “Fearing for their safety.”
Translation: “Shoot first, ask questions later.”
Note that the police did not identify themselves till after they fired 20 times. Clark has a brother who was killed by gun violence.
The video from the helicopter does show, in infrared, Clark advancing towards the officers a few steps. There is also body camera video but the running and screaming and hiding round corners by the police make it hard to get much from it except their extreme cowardice.
The killer cops, Officer Terrence Mercadal and Officer Jared Robinet, are now enjoying paid leave while the police investigate themselves. Mercadal is Black.
Protests: Hundreds of protesters blocked the main highway and the basketball arena, delaying an NBA game.
The press, at the same time it was busily humanizing Mark Conditt, the Austin Bomber, it was dutifully demonizing Clark, reporting his police record – as if that is some kind of excuse to gun him down.
In my younger days, back before iPhones (but not before wallets), I used to smash car windows. Unlike Clark, though, I always remembered to carry my gun. That way if the police cornered me I could always shoot my way out. /sarcasm off.
Clark was the stay-at-home father of two sons, ages 1 and 3.
“Where’s Daddy? Let’s go get Daddy.”
– Abagond, 2018.
See also:
- killer cops
- Phantom Negro Weapon
- Black Brute stereotype
- Mark Conditt – the Austin Bomber
- iPhone
- Fruitvale Station – an excellent film that shows what a police shooting does to a family.
577
“Extreme cowardice” is the perfect way to describe the behavior of some of “America’s finest” (a highly inaccurate honorific in far too many cases).
In addition to being a stay-at-home dad, Mr. Clark also sold shoes and “routinely helped care for his grandparents.”
His grandmother asks, “He was at the wrong place at the wrong time in his own backyard?”
His girlfriend of five years says, “He’s not coming home to me… I have to wake up every morning to my kids asking me, ‘Where’s Daddy? Let’s go get Daddy.’”
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@ Paige
Thank you. I am adding that last line to the post.
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@ Paige
I understand that the officers will never be sent to prison because they said the magic words. But they need to be fired. They are not cut out to be police officers. They make the public less safe, not more safe.
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Clark was suspected of property crime. He was killed in his grandparents backyard because he “fit the description”.
The person that shot up the school in Parkland, FL actually murdered 17 living, breathing human beings. He was taken alive by the police. He never showed signs of being beaten by the police.
Some Americans talk a good game about the “sanctity of life” (blah, blah, blah), but when it really gets down to the nitty gritty, inanimate objects are more valued than human life. Especially if that life has a melanin rich container.
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It’s always the “Phantom Negro Weapons” in this case the dead man’s iPhone, that the gang members in uniforms with badges mistakenly thought was a gun. And the news media never disappoints when it does it’s usual dirt of vilifying And demonizing the dead victims just like Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin and all the other dead black unarmed victims before him. The double standards in this country are appalling.
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RIP.
I was going to go on about how rough i perceived sacramento to be back in the day, hood wise, but that seemed disrespectful?
But it’s the problem, either you’re carrying a gun, or worried about someone else carrying a gun? and they all have guns? and ready to shoot ppl like wtf can be done ie cops and criminals
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there was some counter rna rallies today, little kids and stuff? but the cops will never put down their weapon, and always it’s about officer safety like its some superman there that drove up in their stupid beat up car
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So sad those two little ones are going to grow up without their father.
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When these gang members in uniform with badges are gunning down unarmed black men and claiming they fear for their lives this is not fear but rage. They gunned this man down with 20 bullets as though his black skin was made of steel. If they are always so frightened and fearful of losing their lives they are in the wrong profession, such cowardice.
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And the cops who murdered Stephon Clark will be put on administrative leave and they will still get paid and if they have to go to trial they will be acquitted.
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[…] Related post […]
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you cant just shoot unarmed us citizrns or even a tourist or whatever i mean for what? 6 months in county even if it was him sheesh thats crazy probably probation
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I’ve said this on Twitter already but I truly believe these cops were hunting. They say all the right words but their tone is wrong. Like bullies trying to convince others that they are not misbehaving, it’s really that other kid who they’re bullying.
I don’t believe for one minute they feared for their lives or that they felt Stephon Clark was a threat. I think being on the police force is turning into that old Ice-T movie, Surviving the Game and they are now hunting humans for sport whenever they can get away with it.
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@ thatdeborahgirl
I think you hit the nail on the head. They do seem to be motivated by bloodlust. There is an audience that considers what they do entertainment.
You ever notice how Black people’s grief is almost never shown on television? Yet, you will see White people tearing up over their kids, puppies and kittens all the time on the news.
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I just feel sick about this and i hardly know what to say anymore. If these pigs are that jumpy and afraid, maybe another line of work is in order. Bunch of a**
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These guys might go to a jail because apparently one of the cops is suppose to be black. We saw what happened with the shooting of the Australian woman. She was killed by a black or POC officer with a Muslim name.
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Interesting how the “Parkland Kids” are receiving so much more positive coverage then BLM. We are asked to “question ourselves” as “adults” and review the nation’s moral fiber.
But the killing of Black men will continue even if “assault weapons” are banned.
The core of it is just plain racism. If white children die somethimg must be done.
The difference is BLM critiqued the monopoly of violence the State has and the utter failure of the Justice system when it comes to Black lives. By contrast “Parkland Kids” are calling upon the State to end private violence.
And if stricter weapon laws are passed, who do you think will bear the consequences ? White kids or the Black community ?
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“…if stricter weapon laws are passed, who do you think will bear the consequences ? White kids or the Black community ?”
More stringent gun laws + existing drug laws + broken windows policing + police quotas = more intake valves to the Prison Industrial System.
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@michaeljonbarker:
Glad to see you back, we are on the same page. I got so tired of typing this same sentiment I think i was starting to sound like a broken record. But it is quite galling to me that the Parker kids got more attention than BLM, and other protest of black lives matter protest, especially in Baltimore where Barack Obama called the protesters “thugs” that hurt the most coming from the first black president, it hurt more than if a white person had said it. One of the Parkland kids stated that he realized his privilege and is aware that if this had been some students in an underserved community they would not get this kind of recognition, so i had to at least give him props for that.
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The Fox News affiliate in my city reporting on this incident and the segment of the news cast called Viewers Voice with white People calling in an leaving very hateful voice messages , “He was vandalizing property and “He should not have been running” or from some black people, His mother should have taught him better she raised a thug and a criminal.” I feel bad for the grandmother seeing her crying and having to witness her grandson murdered in her backyard.
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@ Mary Burrell
““He was vandalizing property and “He should not have been running” or from some black people, His mother should have taught him better she raised a thug and a criminal.” “
All of that judgement is based on footage supplied by the police. At this point in time, I don’t trust much of what the police say or show as video “evidence”. We can’t be 100% certain that Mr. Clark was a bonafide suspect or merely at the wrong place (his grandparents backyard) at the wrong time.
There are so many ways to alter or doctor photos, video or audio to fit a certain story. Who is controlling the narrative here? What is their motivation? Who is being protected? Who is being villified?
For all we know, “someone in a hoodie” may or may not have been breaking car windows. Then according to news accounts:
A police helicopter saw Clark in a hoodie in his backyard. They said they saw him break a house window with a “toolbar”.
Think about it. Would Mr. Clark need to break a window to his grandparents house when he likely has a key? Mr. Clark in a hoodie means only that he “fit the description” to the police. How many other young Black men would have also fit the description?
For all we know, Mr. Clark heard a lot of commotion in his grandparents backyard, saw someone else run by and was startled by aggressive armed men yelling commands to him. There was also the stress and distraction of a helicopter roaring overhead.
There are a lot of details of this story that the police and only the police control.
There are recent reports about how Mr. Clark was shot in the back multiple times, some while he was on the ground.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-stephon-clark-explainer-20180330-story.html
We may never know the facts of this case. One thing for certain is that going only on what the police say may not be the best way of understanding this situation.
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@Afrofem: The mainstream media is also complicit in the shaping the negative images and framing the narratives that are always negative and in regards to black people.
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@ Afrofem
Have you heard about the nurse fired because of her racist comments about Stephon Clark? It’s tied into the topic of maternity hospital outcomes for black and brown women, which you’ve been posting about periodically.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/splinternews.com/hospital-fires-nurse-who-said-stupid-stephon-clark-de-1824233449/amp
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@ Solitaire
Thanks for the link.
I wish was surprised by her comments. I’m not.
sigh
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Toolbar: a virtual software element of a graphical user environment. As a craftsman/tradesman i can assure you there is no such physical implement.
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@ v8driver
That is what I was thinking too.
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Oh yeah its just unreal
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Omg before i went to berks county and got housed i had about $5k of tools in my basement a fine collection just about everything
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Im just struggling to control myself
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I’ve been assuming they meant a crowbar? But as far as I’ve heard, nothing like that was found.
This all happened around 9 p.m. which seems to me awfully early in the night to be going around smashing windows, especially if your object is burglary where you would not want to attract attention.
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And this:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZLKf02LdEc)
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Stephon Clark spent much of his time, putting down Black women on Twitter with tweets that said he didn’t want anything black but an x box and referred to Black women as ”black bitches”. His children’s mother, who is Asian shares quite similar views and referred to Black people as the n word in her tweets. As much as I am sadden that he was murdered by the police unjustly, I refuse to march, protest or even lift a finger to protest his death. Even if there wasn’t any tweets out there bashing Black women, I still wouldn’t have marched or protested. It is time that more African American women stop marching and protesting for those who wouldn’t do the same for us.
As a young woman, I will be putting myself first and foremost.
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@ angelaroselle
Thanks for that bit of information.
It is so ironic that Black males like Stephon Clark spend their lives putting down Black women and dependent on Black women. Perhaps one leads to another.
Even though he partnered with a bigoted Asian woman, it seems he still depended on his Black grandmother a great deal.
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The press, at the same time it was busily humanizing Mark Conditt, the Austin Bomber, it was dutifully demonizing Clark, reporting his police record – as if that is some kind of excuse to gun him down.
I saw that too, as plain as day. It’s the same color-coded protectionism the news media engages in every time.
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@Afrofem
The irony of it all. Many of these hateful Black males always fall back on Black women once the going gets rough. All of this loyalty but nothing in return. I was surfing the internet and saw an image of what appeared to be a middle aged African American woman marching with a sign in her hand near the title of an article. And I was saying to myself, why is this woman marching and protesting for a man that hated her guts? Because it surely wouldn’t have been me protesting like that especially when African American men don’t reciprocate the same fervor when it comes to issues affecting African American women.
More of us need to start doing for self and stop carrying the load of others especially if the person despises your existence.
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It turns out that the two cops will face no charges at all! This is an outrage even by the low standards of police shooting investigations!
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Really, any faith that the Federal prosecutors from the US Justice department will find anything that will affect the Sacramento Police department or the two killer cops?
And they arrest over 80 protesters of the verdict (including journalists and religious leaders) but never any killer cops.
Stephon Clark: justice department opens civil rights inquiry into deadly police shooting
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/05/stephon-clark-police-shooting-no-charges-california
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