I was going to add a WaPo article that stated the man was shot in the back. I'll add it just to add more information.
Yes, that is the conclusion of the examiner paid by the family shyster. Not independent, even though it's often referred to as such.
Here is the chart from the autopsy.
All but one entrance wounds are on the right side of the body. The neck shot, that has the exit wound as well, shows the bullet passing from right to left, not back to front. That indicates he was turned sideways and not that he was shot in the back. All the other entrance wounds could have happened from the side too.
Now let's look at the thigh shot. That's the other bullet that also has an exit wound. The positions of the entrance and exit wounds indicate that the leg was likely raised and it also indicates that the bullet went front to back, which is not consistent with Stephon being shot in the back.
So I think the family autopsy conclusions are highly questionable and I wonder what the official autopsy will show.
Stephon Clark, the unarmed 22-year-old killed by Sacramento police officers earlier this month, was shot eight times, with most of the bullets hitting him in the back, according to an independent autopsy requested by his family’s attorneys.
"Independent autopsy" and "requested by his family's attorneys" are contradictory.
Also, I wish WaPo and other outlets showed a little bit more skepticism toward claims made by family attorneys.
Bullets struck Clark in the neck, back and thigh, breaking bones and piercing his lung, said Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist. The bullets combined to make Clark “bleed massively,” Omalu said.
Note again, the neck would is clearly right-to-left, not back-to-front.
No wonder the cops turned off the sound of their recorders. No wonder they lied about what happened. They shot their victim in the back, and then lied about it. The sad thing is that its unlikely they will even be prosecuted.
Depends on what the actual investigation shows. Perhaps they will just be disciplined over the muting. Although it must be noted that the muting happened ~6mins after the shooting, not during or immediately after.
Clark is one of at least 269 people fatally shot by police so far this year, according to The Washington Post’s database tracking such deaths. Since The Post began to track these shootings in January 2015, the Sacramento police have fatally shot six people. Including Clark, five of the six have been black men.
And vast majority of them have been justified. Note that #BLM Sacramento routinely protests police shootings of black suspects even if clearly justified, like the guy who was shooting at police or another guy who injured both a human and a K9 officer by throwing rocks at them. This is the first case to gain national coverage though.
So, now it appears as if these cowardly police shot this unarmed man in the back. I don't understand how anyone can defend the actions of these police. Why didn't they use tasers before they decided that the young man was armed? Why did they shoot him in the back, 8 times no less? Why are some of you defending the actions of these incompetent police officers? The police in many parts of the US are totally out of control. They seem to think that the citizens are the enemy, perhaps because many of them are former military personnel, or perhaps because we have militarized our police departments. We should all be outraged! And, don't the police wear protective vests? Why are they such cowards?
Why don't we wait for the results of the actual investigation before we condemn the police. Family attorneys talk a lot of bullshit when the day is long. For example
Lee Merritt in the Darius Smith case who claimed that Darius wasn't in the midst of a robbery (he was) and that he was executed after getting incapacitated (complete fabrication).
Actual facts turned out to be quite different. So, yeah, I'd take this "independent" autopsy with a grain of salt. Or a whole salt mine.
