Sacramento Police Completes Investigation Into Stephon Clark Shooting, Sends Results To District Attorney

Updated 6:08 p.m.

The Sacramento Police Department announced Thursday it has completed its investigation into the shooting of Stephon Clark, who was killed by two officers earlier this year.

The department did not release any conclusions and says it has passed the results to the Sacramento County District Attorney and the California Department of Justice.

Now, the DA and state attorney general will review the case to determine if charges should be filed against the officers.

“We recognize that this incident has had a significant impact on our community, and that our investigation had to be as thorough and as open as it could be,” Police Chief Daniel Hahn said in a statement.

Department spokesperson Vance Chandler says the report contains all of the facts from the shooting, as determined by department investigators, but no conclusions.

Hear police spokesman Vance Chandler's comments:

Mayor Darrell Steinberg told CapRadio this afternoon that it will be some time until any conclusions are made public.

“Just to sort of temper the expectations … once the police department is done with its investigation, that’s only a very preliminary stage,” the mayor said. “It’s really up to the district attorney and the state attorney general to evaluate whatever the investigation finds to determine whether or not further action should be taken. So, it’s going to be still some time.”

Hear Mayor Darrell Steinberg's comments:

Chandler said the department had no expectations for the length of time it would take for the DA Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert or California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to make any determinations on the case to decide whether charges would be forthcoming.

Sonia Lewis with the Sacramento Black Lives Matter chapter says she expects the investigation could be completed in a few months.

“What we’ve heard straight from the DA’s mouth is that is that most cases take two months to 90 days,” Lewis said. “So, now she has a timetable. My expectation is no more than 90 days from today should we have answers."

Hear Sonia Lewis' comments:

The DA’s office confirmed it had received the police department’s investigation but would not comment further.

Clark died on the night of March 18 after local law enforcement arrived in his Meadowview neighborhood due to a 911 call complaining of an individual breaking car windows. Two police officers pursued Clark into a backyard, which they later learned was his grandmother’s home, and shot him eight times. The officers thought Clark possessed a gun, but he only had a cellphone.

Demonstrations gripped the city for weeks after Clark’s death. The local Black Lives Matter chapter has protested outside the DA’s downtown offices since April, demanding that Schubert bring charges against the officers.

The department released on Thursday a timeline with dates its says are relevant to the Clark investigation, beginning with his death on March 18 and ending on October 16, when the officers completed additional interviews.

The timeline details multiple search warrants for Clark’s cell phone, in addition to shipping his phone to a “private company to be analyzed” on March 29.

The department reports receiving the results of the contents of Clark’s phone on July 10, and information from a follow-up warrant on October 9.

“It goes to show what is entailed in an investigation like this,” Chandler said of the time it takes to process and obtain evidence.

In a statement, Steinberg added that he is “anxious” for the investigation’s outcome. “The investigation now moves to the necessary next phase. I am hopeful that the District Attorney and the Attorney General will move expeditiously to reach its findings and recommendations,” he wrote.

This story is developing and will be updated.