SACRAMENTO, Calif. — There was outrage outside the Golden 1 Center after Stevante Clark came face to face with the officer who 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,” said Clark.
In the caught-on-camera encounter, Clark is seen asking the officer why he muted his body camera, and the officer says "If you'd like to talk, we can talk."
When Stephon Clark was killed, police had been chasing him after reports of someone breaking into cars. Officers said they believed he was armed, but they only found a cellphone.
“I asked him why he muted his body camera. He couldn’t even me answer me. He told me, 'Look at the files. Look at the documents.'”
ABC10 pulled the files and here’s how the officer described that night in his own words:
"I was scared. I thought he had shot at me. I think I remember yelling 'gun' and I poked my head back out around the corner, further than I should have put it out there. And I see the subject is advancing towards us, and I see that same bright metallic shining of the light in his hands. I thought he was approaching and shooting at us," Officer Terrence Mercadal said in the file interview.
Clarks issues also extend toward the Sacramento Kings.
“Prior to this, the Kings have used my brother’s name for the teen summit without tapping in with the Clark family at all," he said. "Not only that. It’s a shame they use my brother for talking points. You don’t support the Clark family. You don’t support the 'I Am Sac Foundation,' and then after that, to step on the Clark family even more, you hire the same cop who killed my unarmed brother in my grandmother’s backyard to work the crowd. He shows no remorse.”
The Kings don’t have jurisdiction over where police officers are assigned, and the Sacramento Police Department released statement saying: "The shooting has been investigated at the local, state, and federal level. In each investigation the shooting was found to be within the law. Terrence Mercadal remains an active employee with the Sacramento Police Department."
“He’s never been fired. He’s never been charged. Of course, he’s never been convicted. He got a raise. He’s still working the streets," said Clark. "I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired and this is one of the reasons why.”
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