Unarmed black man holding cellphone shot by Sacramento police: report

The Sacramento County Sheriff Department said that a black man shot and killed Sunday by law enforcement had been holding a cellphone rather than a “tool bar,” according to The Sacramento Bee.

Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old man living with his siblings and grandparents, was shot in his backyard Sunday evening, the newspaper reported.

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“The only thing that I heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, and I got to the ground,” Clark’s grandmother told the Bee.

Law enforcement said they thought Clark had a gun when he “extended in front of him” an “object” as he moved toward two officers.

Police did not discover a gun on site, where they were investigating a tip about an individual smashing car windows. The department said it only found a cellphone during the course of its investigation of the shooting.

Officers reportedly arrived at Clark’s home upon receiving direction from deputies flying overhead in a helicopter, who said the man had smashed a car window using a “tool bar.”

Clark was subsequently identified to be that man, and law enforcement said he ran from police but turned around and made his way toward the officers holding an item.