• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Sacramento Police Department, Feds, join DA in clearing officers involved in Stephon Clark shooting

Sacramento Police Department
September 27, 2019
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento Police Department on Thursday cleared Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, who fatally shot Stephon Clark in March 2018. The police agency said their officers did not violate department policy or training.

“This incident has been thoroughly investigated by law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels,” Chief Daniel Hahn said in a prepared statement.

“Every one of these independent examinations has reached the same finding – the use of deadly force in this case was lawful. Our internal investigation concluded that there were no violations of department policy or training.”

“The officers involved in this case will return to full, active duty,” he said, clearing the officers of any wrongdoing.

Mercadal and Robinet have been working administrative assignments since the shooting, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The expected announcement came just three minutes after U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott and the FBI announced their own investigation into whether the officers had violated Clark’s civil rights was closed, saying it “found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal civil rights charges against the Sacramento Police Department officers involved.”

“The federal investigation sought to determine whether the evidence of the events that led to Clark’s death was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any officer’s actions violated federal criminal civil rights statutes,” Scott’s office said.

“Under the applicable federal law, prosecutors must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a law enforcement officer’s use of force was objectively unreasonable in light of the facts and circumstances at the time and that the officer acted willfully, with the purpose of using objectively unreasonable force.”

  • COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP SEMINAR

Clark was shot in his grandmother’s backyard on March 18, 2018, after police responded to reports of a man breaking car windows. Clark failed to comply with officers commands and ran from police in the darkness of night and was ultimately chased into a backyard. He was holding a cell phone, which officers mistook for a weapon, the department said.

Raw video footage of Stephon Clark shooting:

“Currently in meeting with FBI Justice Department and Sacramento PD,” posted Stevante Clark, brother of Stephon Clark, on Facebook about 2 p.m. Thursday, “These people have failed when it comes to #Accountability.”

“We just left a meeting with (Scott) and Chief Hahn,” Stevante Clark said in a phone interview. “And the Clark family is failed again. Justice is denied.”

  • EMOTIONAL PLEA FOR DEPUTY BRAD SULLIVAN FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE AFTER CRITICAL GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD

In March, nearly a year after the shooting, District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert also cleared Mercadal and Robinet, and did not file criminal charges against the two officers. In a news conference at the time, Schubert said the officers “acted lawfully under the circumstances” and the shooting was justified. California Attorney General Xavier Becerrra, who conducted his own investigation, came to a similar conclusion, reported The Sacramento Bee.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has described the shooting as a deep wound to the city, issued a brief statement Thursday afternoon: “This incident has been investigated at every level and each agency came to the same conclusion. Those conclusions, however, will never change the fact that this was a tragedy and the Clark family lost a loved one.

“As a city and as a police department, we have made many important changes. We changed our foot pursuit policy, our body worn camera policy and will continue to make the changes necessary to make our city safer for our community and our officers. “

Sacramento City Councilman Larry Carr, who represents the Meadowview area where Clark was shot, called the shooting a tragedy, but said good had come out of it.

“It led to some significant reforms in terms of police use of force not only in the city but across the state,” Carr said. “It has led to us having a better police force and more transparency about what happens in use of force incidents, which makes a stronger bond between the police and community.”

 


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Jared RobinetSacramento Police DepartmentStephon ClarkTerrence MercadalVideo
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

Watch this Tacoma officer take down an ‘active shooter’ from 183 yards away

September 30, 2022
Sacramento police

Sacramento police fatally shoot woman after officer suffers stab wounds

August 28, 2022
Smiley Martin

Man connected to Sacramento mass shooting was released in February after serving merely 40 percent of prison sentence

April 6, 2022
Sacramento mass shooting

More suspects arrested in Sacramento mass shooting

April 5, 2022
Sacramento Mass shooting

Sacramento police make arrest in mass shooting

April 4, 2022
K9 Ranger

California police K9 stabbed as officers serve arrest warrant

November 6, 2021
Load More

Latest Articles

Houston woman pepper sprays

Houston woman pepper sprays, robs ride-share driver for refusing to go through drive-thru

September 29, 2023
Walgreens

Retailers lost billions of dollars to shoplifters in 2022, survey shows

September 29, 2023
Robert F Kennedy

Was Kennedy Right?

September 28, 2023
Officer Candace Kanavel

Arizona officer competes for Miss USA crown

September 28, 2023
Dayjia Blackwell

Social media influencer ‘Meatball’ who livestreamed Philadelphia looting arrested, charged with 8 crimes

September 28, 2023
Valentina McKenzie

Minnesota Freedom Fund chair charged with fentanyl possession

September 28, 2023
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com