Stephon Clark's family attorney, Benjamin Crump, echoed the calls for justice at Sacramento City Hall Monday morning.
On Sunday, March 18, Clark, an unarmed 22-year-old black man, was shot dead in his grandmother’s backyard by Sacramento police. Officers were responding to a 911 call about a man attempting to break into cars when they approached Clark, firing 20 shots before killing him.
Crump spoke alongside Clark's grandmother, Sequita Thompson, and several civil rights advocates, including Alice Huffman, president of the NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference, The Rev. Shane Harris, National Action Network Senior Leadership California and Betty Williams, president of the NAACP Sacramento Branch.
Clark family address media
"Why didn't you shoot him in the arm? Shoot him in the leg?" a tearful Thompson said. "Why?"
Thompson said at a news conference police didn't need to shoot at Clark 20 times. She said through tears police could have sent in a police dog or used a Taser instead.
Police say they thought he had a gun, but found only a cellphone. The family's renowned civil rights attorney said Clark is the latest face of young black men killed by police.
Williams also called on Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert to return the NAACP's call. Meanwhile, Crump asked for an independent autopsy on Clark.
ABC10 is not naming the police officers involved in the Stephon Clark shooting until the Sacramento Police Department officially confirms the officer’s involvement. ABC10 is aware that the officers names are a topic of discussion on social media and by other news organizations, but we are choosing to wait until official information released and not hinder the investigation.