Update Mar. 21: The Sacramento Police Department released the body cameras from the incident. WARNING: The video contains graphic content and may disturb some viewers.
ORIGINAL STORY: MAR. 19, 2018
Two Sacramento Police officers are on paid administrative leave after shooting at a suspect 20 times, killing him in a family member's backyard.
Police responded to reports of a man breaking into vehicles in the 7500 block of 29th Street just before 9:15 p.m.
According to police, the suspect fled towards the back of a home. There, he advanced toward the officers with an object. Fearing for their safety, the officers fired at him 20 times, 10 from each gun. The man was struck "multiple times" and died at the scene.
Officials have not released the name of the suspect, but have said he was a black man in his early twenties and family member owns the house where the shooting took place.
"They put out a press release stating that they feared for their lives and he lunged at them, but he was shot four times in his back," Tanya Faison said. She organized a Black Lives Matter rally with people holding signs declaring '#StephenClark: Say His Name'. "He was also shot and killed in his own backyard, so we have a lot of questions. There are a lot of inconsistencies. We need the police to stop killing us in Sacramento."
The amount of times the suspect was shot and where the suspect was hit has not been confirmed by police.
Officers say that prior to the shooting officers saw the suspect coming towards them with his arms extended and holding an object in his hands, which they perceived as a firearm. After an extensive search the only thing found was a cell phone.
The officers have a combined six years of experience with the Sacramento Police Department. Both were wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting. The investigation involves the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, the Sacramento City Attorney's Office and the City's Office of Public Safety Accountability.