Police muted their body cameras just minutes after they fatally shot an unarmed Black man in his own yard, Vice News reported based on body camera footage released on Wednesday.
The Sacramento Police Department released the footage two days after two officers shot and killed 22-year-old Stephon Clark, according to the Sacramento Bee. Police said they thought he was pointing a firearm at them, or a crowbar, but the department later confirmed that Clark only had a cell phone.
Warning: This video shows violent imagery.
The body camera footage shows that officers initially thought Clark was armed and shot him only seconds after pursuing him into his grandparents’ yard. Clark lived there, and his cousin says family members would knock on bedroom windows after dark to get someone’s attention in the house, Mic reported.
The Sacramento Police Department reportedly confirmed officers fired 20 times at Clark. The footage reveals officers muting their body cameras shortly after.
“There are a variety of reasons why officers have the opportunity to mute their body-worn cameras,” Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Vance Chandler said.
Clark’s death has drawn the attention of Black Lives Matter supporters and activists nationally who blame police misconduct.
#StephenClark was an unarmed Black man that shot 20 times by @SacPolice officers on Sunday night in his backyard. #Justice4StephenClark#RestInPeaceZoe#SayHisName pic.twitter.com/caIIW7CxxH
— Black Lives Matter Sacramento (@BLMSacramento) March 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/976165158568497152
https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/976449711124221954
The officers involved in the shooting, who have not yet been identified, have been placed on administrative leave.
H/T Vice
