(At the :33 mark, the suspect can be heard cursing at officers after they told him to drop the weapon)
Aerial footage from a recent fatal shooting of a suspect in California is bringing new information to light- and obliterating the narrative that the slain individual was simply minding his own business.
The Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) footage adds another element to the 18 March shooting of 22-year-old Stephon Clark by Sacramento Police, showing the suspect leaping over fences before entering a residential property and inspecting a vehicle- all while police closed in on him.
Officers originally responded to a 911 call reporting that Clark was breaking into vehicles, which led to the chase. However if you listen to multiple media outlets and self-serving politicians, it would seem as though officers approached him while he was just sitting on his grandma’s back porch.
However, in body camera footage taken from the officers, Clark can be heard yelling “f**k you!” to the officers as they ordered him to show his hands. He then moved towards officers with while holding a dark object when they opened fire.
Both the body cam and the FLIR videos act as a counter to the established narrative that the suspect was on his own property, casually talking on his phone.
“The death of one more man of color is one too many,” Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg said at a protest on Thursday.
The protests in the wake of the shooting inundated California’s capital with angry dissidents, who feel Clark was doing nothing illegal at the time of his death. Fans were even turned away from the Sacramento Kings NBA game when protesters surrounded the stadium.
While the footage does paint a different picture than the narrative portrayed by politicians, protesters and media, Mayor Steinberg seems to hold no love for his police force.
“The tragedy warrants not only our sorrow but a deep examination of what occurred and what policies and procedures must be examined and changed to minimize the chance that this does not happen again,” Steinberg said.
According to FOX 40, the officers believed that Clark was armed, collectively firing twenty shots at him when he began to move towards them. Upon inspection of his body, it was discovered that he was in possession of a cellular phone.
Prior to the shooting, Clark was believed to have been breaking into vehicles.
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