For nearly a year, community members and activists have demanded police accountability for the death of Stephon Clark, 22, who was killed last March by officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet. The two officers had been dispatched to investigate a routine vandalism complaint. Within 10 minutes of their arrival, after a brief pursuit, Clark was dead.
The shooting sparked waves of protests in Sacramento that shut down busy streets, disrupted sporting events and overtook City Council meetings. Clark’s death took on national significance amid continuing tensions over discriminatory policing in black neighborhoods and excessive use of force by police officers.
“Was a crime committed? There’s no question that a human being died,” District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said Saturday in Sacramento. “But when we look at the facts and the law, and we follow our ethical responsibilities, the answer to that question is no. And as a result, we will not charge these officers.”
Schubert said the officers had probable cause to stop and detain Clark. She added that police officers are legally justified in using deadly force “if the officer honestly and reasonably believes” he is in danger of death or injury.
“We must recognize that they are often forced to make split-second decisions,” she said. “We must also recognize that they are under tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving circumstances.”
The officers fired their weapons 20 times in Clark’s direction within seconds of turning a blind corner. “Both officers believed that he was pointing a gun at them,” Schubert said. She added that police video showed Clark was “advancing” on the officers.
Clark was later found to be unarmed; his cellphone was found under his body.
Black activists have expressed long-simmering frustrations about how their neighborhoods have been policed by the Sacramento Police Department and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.
After the shooting, the Police Department sought to swiftly quell public outrage. The department released body camera footage within days of the shooting. Daniel Hahn, the city’s first black police chief, reiterated that the department required training related to race-based discrimination and de-escalation tactics. The next month, the department issued new guidance about when officers can mute their body cameras.
Hahn and the department have not commented on Mercadal’s and Robinet’s actions specifically. The department did not return a request for comment Saturday.
In January, Clark’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and the two officers.
Anticipating more protests over the announcement, Schubert sought to strike a conciliatory tone throughout her presentation.
“I don’t think there’s any question that people will be very upset and very angry,” she said. “But I want people to understand the fact that no criminal charges will be filed in this case does not diminish in any way the tragedy, the anger, the frustration that we’ve heard since the time of his death.”
“We cannot ignore that. Me as an elected official, as a public-facing leader, me as a human being, we cannot ignore that there is a rage in our community.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.