Stevante Clark Explains Why People Should Stop Sharing Video of Brother Stephon’s Death

stephon clark brother

Stevante Clark recently received mental health treatment. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Stevante Clark, the brother of police shooting victim Stephon Clark, wants everyone to stop broadcasting footage of his brother’s death.

The 25-year-old has been at the forefront of the fight for justice in the police shooting death of 22-year-old Stephon Clark, who was gunned down in Sacramento, Calif., in his grandparent’s backyard in March.

During a city council meeting Tuesday, April 10, the New York Daily News reported Clark said he wanted everyone to stop airing footage of his younger brother being shot multiple times by cops, saying it was distressing the family.

Since the story has been picked up, Clark has been noticeably distressed, behaving erratically in front of cameras and media during public appearances.

He cursed out Mayor Darrell Steinberg at an earlier city council meeting, shouted at media gathered outside his brother’s March funeral and forced Don Lemon to end an interview after Clark became upset.

Jamilia Land, a woman who identified herself as Clark’s aunt, gave an explanation for his behavior at a rally hosted by Sacramento native and ex-NBA star Matt Barnes.

“[Stephon Clark’s] brother Stevante has post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said to the Cesar E. Chavez Plaza crowd. “Stevante has lost two of his brothers. I was over at Stephon’s grave site yesterday where he is buried on top of his 19-year-old brother.”

While at Tuesday’s city council meeting, Clark said his recent seeking of mental health treatment after cops showed up to his hotel was “nothing to be ashamed of.”

He told The Sacramento Bee Monday that he sought treatment voluntarily and that staff at University of California Davis Medical Center “treated me nice.”

“The love I received there was incredible … It felt so good just to sit there,” he said after noting that he “needed to be away from the fake love.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top