Statement on the Fatal Shooting of Stephan Clark

March 21 2018

Today, Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, president and co-founder of the Center for Policing Equity, released the following statement about the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Stephan Clark:

“Yet another young Black man with a bright future lost his life on Sunday at the hands of a police officer."

Details are still being released, but one thing is clear – the community demands and should have answers. As the good people of the Sacramento Police Department already know, relationships in the criminal justice system are built by trust in it, not fear of it.

“I send my condolences to the family of Stephan Clark and pray for healing and more dialogue. These ugly incidents did not go away just because the nation stopped paying attention to them. And they will not go away in the dark. As many in the nation stand up to end gun violence and sexual harassment, so too must we do the hard work of democracy in the area of policing. Leaders in policing and communities must keep the lights shining on the work we have left to do in order to ensure that public safety serves the public safely.”

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