Stephon Clark Autopsy At Odds With Police Story, Legal Team Says

SACRAMENTO, CA -- An independent autopsy of Stephon Clark's bullet-riddled body contradicts the Sacramento Police Department's version of events, according to the legal team for Clark's family. Pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu determined Clark was shot eight times in the back or side. None of the bullets entered his body from the front, the autopsy found.

Two police officers responding to a report that someone was breaking car windows on March 18 opened fire on Clark as he hid in the backyard of his grandmother's home. Police said the officers - who each shot 10 times - thought he pointed a gun at them in a threatening manner. The officer's, fearing for their lives, fired 20 rounds.

But investigators only recovered a cellphone at the scene.

See also: Video Shows Moments Before Cops Kill Stephon Clark

The autopsy identified four entry wounds in Clark's lower back, as well as one in the side of his neck, one in the back of his neck, one on his side under the armpit and one in the outside of his leg.

The findings clearly demonstrate Clark was not moving toward officers in a threatening manner, as police said, according to the family's legal team. They could have allowed him time to comply with their commands to show them his hands before killing him, the team said.

“These findings from the independent autopsy contradict the police narrative that we’ve been told,” said attorney Benjamin Crump, who was retained by the Clark family. “From the time this investigation began, statements provided by the Sacramento Police Department have proven to be self-serving, untrustworthy, and unreliable. This independent autopsy affirms that Stephon was not a threat to police and was slain in another senseless police killing under increasingly questionable circumstances.”

Crump expects authorities will try to dispute or minimize the findings because the conclusions directly contradict the official story.

The state's Department of Justice said it will investigate killing that sparked outrage and protests across the country.

A GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help Clark's grandparents give him the "ceremony he deserves" raised more than $83,000.

Read the Sacramento Bee story here.

Photo credit: GoFundMe