By Robert J Hansen
Stevante Clark went to the Golden 1 Center for game five of the Kings and Warriors playoff series last Wednesday, and he confronted the man that killed his brother, Stephon Clark.
“I’m sad. I’m upset. It messed up my whole day. I’m ruined. This is the first time I have ever seen this cop in my life. I’ve never seen Terrance Mercadal in person,” Clark told ABC10.
On March 18, 2018, Stephon Clark was shot and killed by Sacramento police officers, which included Officer Mercadal, in his grandmother’s backyard after running from police.
Stephon was unarmed and posed no threat to the officers and his death sparked protests and outrage across the city.
The Clark family released a statement on Friday that said they were deeply disappointed that the Sacramento Kings would use Stephon’s name without first connecting with them.
“In the wake of Stephon’s death, the Kings organization announced the creation of the Team Summit organization, which was ostensibly created to address issues of police 
brutality and racial injustice,” the statement said.
The Clark family said the Kings have done little to address these issues.
“They have continued to employ the officer who killed Stephon Clark,” the statement said. It is a slap in the face to the Clark family and the community that the Kings would use the name of Stephon Clark to promote their organization while simultaneously employing the officer who killed him.
They are demanding that the Kings organization stop using Stephon Clark’s name without first connecting with them and demanding that the King’s organization fire Officer Mercadal.
Stevante Clark called on the Sacramento Police Department to fire the officers who killed his brother.
“They have shown that they cannot be trusted to protect and serve our community,” Clark said.
The Sacramento Police Department released a statement after the incident.
“The shooting has been investigated at the local, state, and federal level,” the statement said. “In each investigation, the shooting was found to be within the law. Terrence Mercadal remains an active employee with the Sacramento Police Department.”
Only the department has jurisdiction over where police officers are assigned, according to the police.
Clark also called on the Sacramento Kings to stop creating organizations founded on “the blood of my brother.”
He said while the Kings continue to hire the same cops who killed Stephon to work their games, they cannot claim to support his family or the community.
“We will not rest until justice is served for Stephon Clark.
“We will not stop fighting until the Sacramento Police Department is held accountable for its actions,” Clark said.
The Kings organization continue to blatantly dishonor the memory of an unarmed Stephon Clark by continuing to employ one of the cowardly officers that murdered him in cold blood. I sincerely hope the Kings lose Game 7.
“I sincerely hope the Kings lose Game 7.”
That goes a little far…
So David, you read his entire comment and that was the only part that went too far?
I must add, as a life long Warriors fan this is one of the few times that Shwe and I actually agree.
The officers that killed Clark in cold blood went even further than my previous statement because Clark can never be brought back to life.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/03/29/stephon-clarks-shooting-legally-justified-under-law/471333002/https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/03/29/stephon-clarks-shooting-legally-justified-under-law/471333002/
I think the AG’s investigative report is a better source than an opinion column in the USA Today: link
From the report: “Of great significance in our evaluation is that we uncovered no evidence in the body camera or STAR recordings, the autopsy, witness interviews, or the crime scene investigation that pointed towards a conclusion that Clark was not approaching the officers when he was shot, or that he was attempting to surrender in any way, or that he was not holding an object—albeit, a cell phone—in his hands.”
Bravo. The police killed a 22 year old who was only carrying a cell phone because he was holding an object in his hands and they had a reasonable belief there was a gun. Based on their training and experience, they did the right thing. Nevermind that their training and experience ended in the shooting of an unarmed man.
That’s like your opinion man.
I always love it when arm chair quarterbacks say what should’ve occurred when someone is pointing what is perceived to be a gun at them.
My answer to them is what if one of those officers was your child?
“That’s like your opinion man.”
Yes, Lebowski.
“My answer to them is what if one of those officers was your child?”
Then they would have been attacked with a cell phone.
What if Stephon Clark was your son?
I just finished reading Tangled Up in Blues (Not the Dylan Song). It’s written by a law professor who decided to join the officer reserves in DC and then wrote a book about it.
There was one incident where they entered a home with a possible burglar and she realized if she and her partner had followed training and gone in with guns up, when the 15 year old who lived there suddenly jumped out of the dark, they would have probably shot him.
SHe concluded, “Despite all the officer safety videos we had watched in the academy, I wasn’t persuaded that policing in Washington, DC, was particularly dangerous… It’s just that being a cop isn’t nearly as dangerous as cops think it is.”
She said, “This matters, because an exaggerated sense of risk drives how officers respond to the unexpected.”
She continued, ” This is why police in America end up killing so many people. It’s not that they’re sadists, or that they don’t care about the lives of black Americans (this may be true of a few, but not of most). It’s just that everything in police training and culture tells them to expect danger from every quarter. Officers are trained to be hypervigilant and respond to potential threats instantly. They’re told they have “a right to go home safe.” Too often, they forget that other people have a right to go home safe too. ”
I know you won’t read this book or think about this stuff any differently, but I think you need to start with the premise that the wrong thing happened to Stephon Clark even if it is technically lawful and then ask yourself how the next kid doesn’t end up dead. Because what if he was your kid? And if you don’t think that can happen to you, let’s have a beer and I can tell you a story.
I always love it when arm chair quarterbacks desire officers to be judges, juries and executioners if they only suspect someone is brandishing a weapon.
If the officer was my son, I would want him to risk his life to make sure that the suspect was actually carrying a lethal weapon before murdering someone. That’s all for now folks.