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Two Sacramento police officers who shot and killed an unarmed black man last March will not face federal charges and will be reinstated after an internal investigation by the department cleared them of all charges. wrongdoing, announced Thursday officials.
CALIFORNIA OFFICERS WHO KILLED STEPHON CLARK DO NOT TARGET EXPENSES, STATE AG, SAID
US Attorney McGregor Scott and the FBI announced Thursday that a federal review of Stephon Clark's 22-year-old shooting in 2018 had revealed "insufficient evidence" to prosecute civil rights violations against officers Terrance Mercadal and Jared Robinet. Mercadal is also black. Tap is white.
The investigation did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that either officer "acted deliberately to use objectively unreasonable force," said Scott's office in The Sacramento Bee.
The announcement took place a few minutes before the Sacramento Police Department also indicates that an internal investigation revealed no violations of the policy or training in Mercadal and the actions of Robinet leading to Clark's death . Both will be returned to active duty. Both were put into service after the shooting.
"This incident was the subject of a thorough investigation by law enforcement agencies at the local, regional and federal levels," said Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn, in a statement. communicated. "Each of these independent reviews came to the same conclusion: the use of lethal force in this case was lawful.
"While no violation of the policy has occurred during this incident or the events that preceded it, we are committed to implementing strategies that can prevent such tragedies from occurring." Future, "said Hahn.
Clark was shot seven times in his grandparent's garden in the Meadowview neighborhood of Sacramento in March 2018 after fleeing the police. Both officers were pursuing Clark after receiving calls about a man smashing the windows of a car and the sliding glass door of an elderly neighbor in the corner.
The authorities said the police believed that Clark was coming towards them with a firearm in his hand. The item was then determined to be a cell phone. His death sparked protests for a year as civil rights groups claimed that the race had played a role in the shooting.
The California Attorney General's Office announced in March, around the first anniversary of Clark's death, that his investigation was over and that the two officers were not criminally prosecuted. According to Attorney General Xavier Becerra, there was evidence that the police had reason to believe that their lives were in danger.
The city of Sacramento agreed in June on a tentative settlement of $ 20 million in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Clark's minor sons, parents and grandparents, The Bee said.
Clark's brother, Stevante Clark, wrote on Facebook Thursday that he was attending a meeting with federal and local authorities. "These people have failed in responsibility," he wrote.
"My job, as a guardian of my brother, is to continue to fight for responsibility and justice. My job is to make sure that nothing like this ever happens in our city, "Stevante Clark told reporters after the police department announced that it had allowed the police to get rid of the crime. reprehensible act.
"We do not want deadly policemen on our streets, we will not have murderous policemen on our streets," Clark said. "The Sacramento police should know the difference between a gun and a cell phone and my brother should be with us today."
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Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said, "This incident has been investigated at every level and every agency has come to the same conclusion. These findings, however, will never change the fact that it was a tragedy and that the Clark family lost a loved one.
"As a city and as a police service, we have made many important changes. We have changed our foot pursuit policy, our policy on body-worn cameras, and will continue to make the necessary changes to make our city safer for our community and our officers.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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