California city’s SWAT team shoots, kills man in backyard

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Two Sacramento police officers shot and killed a man who was armed with a gun early Thursday, authorities said.

Officers responded to a 911 call about a masked man carrying a gun and found someone matching the description, but he fled into the Curtis Park neighbourhood about two miles (three kilometres) from the state capitol, police Sgt. Vance Chandler told reporters.

Police surrounded the area and called in a SWAT team, which discovered a suspect in the backyard of a home, where officers opened fire.

It’s unclear whether the man pointed a gun at officers or fired at them before they killed him. However, Chandler said a gun was found next to the man, and “the suspect posed an immediate threat to the officers.”

Neither the man nor the officers were identified.

The shooting comes the same week the family of another man shot by police in March filed wrongful death claims with the city. Police fatally shot 22-year-old Stephon, setting off weeks of protests in in Sacramento and calls for police reform.

Two officers said they shot Clark thinking he was pointing a gun at them, but he turned out to be carrying only a cellphone.

Clark’s family is seeking more than $15 million in damages, including loss of financial support, funeral expenses, attorney fees, and punitive damages, according to the city.

Such claims are usually a precursor to a lawsuit, the city said.

District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert has not decided whether to bring charges against the officers in the March shooting.