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Sacramento police union president says Stephon Clark shooting was 'absolutely wrong,' but officers should not be fired

The association president says they want to be able to resolve situations without the loss of life.

SACRAMENTO, Calif — Sacramento Police Officer Association president spoke with ABC10 following the District Attorney's decision not to file charges against the officers involved in the Stephon Clark shooting death.

Timothy Davis told ABC10 that officers hope incidents happen without death, which is why the Clark shooting was "absolutely wrong." 

"That's not how we want to resolve these situations, but the officers aren't in control of how these events develop," Daivs said.

Davis' statements come after Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg made a similar proclamation in a news conference over the weekend.

"I am deeply sorry for all of the pain that will always be with you," Steinberg said. "The outcome was wrong. He should not have died."

Davis said he'd like to see more time spent on use-of-force training simulations. The association also supports a senate bill that would mandate statewide use-of-force policies and training and set aside millions of dollars to help departments deal with an increasing number of mental health calls.

Below is a portion of ABC10's interview with SPOA president Timothy Davis. For more, watch the video above.

ABC10: So I'm hearing you say that you do believe the shooting death was wrong?

Davis: Yes. The outcome was wrong.

ABC10: Do you feel the officers should be fired?

Davis: No. They should not because they followed policy. You can't hold people accountable for complying with a change in the policy.

ABC10: What ramifications do you think the officers should face? People will say if I make a misperception at work that has fatal consequences that is a pretty big deal. What accountability or ramifications do you think these officers should face?

Davis: They should not have ramifications. I think us as a community need to find ways of how we can better interact with police officers in the future. We as a police department need to find ways that we can better interact with the community, and we need to find ways that we can better train our officers.

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