In a scathing lawsuit, the family of a Black man fatally shot by Oregon police allege that the cops didn’t administer aid to him but instead mocked and mutilated his lifeless body.
The suit claims the incident happened June 2022 when Clackamas County police tried to pull over 24-year-old Derrick Clark Jr. for a “wobble lane change,” suspecting he was under the influence. The suit says Clark initially ignored the cues to pull over until the police vehicle rammed into his car twice, shoving it on the side of the road. From there, body camera footage shows Clark led police on a brief foot chase and tossed a gun while fleeing.
As his back was turned, the suit claims that the officers shot Clark eight times. Police statements claimed he was hit twice by the gunfire and died at the scene, per KGW. However, there’s about two hours following this moment that went unaccounted for, according to the complaint.
While Clark laid unresponsive, the suit alleges officers deployed a heat sensor drone and explosives at him, joking that he was a “warm dead deer.”
...And that’s not all.
Read more from The Associated Press:
The officers laughed, chewed tobacco, made jokes and talked about the “boy” being dead, according to the lawsuit, which also alleges that they commanded a dog to “bite and maul him.”
About two hours elapsed from the moment the eighth shot hit Clark to the time the police dog bit him and he was pronounced dead. “During that span of time, over 50 law enforcement officers at the scene either neglected, refused, or otherwise failed to render aid to Mr. Clark,” the lawsuit says. “This is a violation of the policy of Defendant officers’ respective departmental policies. Had appropriate aid been provided, Mr. Clark could have survived.”
Clackamas County Sheriff’s detective Daniel Ferguson and Oregon State Police trooper Zachary Cole were identified as the officers in question. Months after the shooting, a grand jury cleared the officers of facing any criminal charges, per KGW News. It’s unclear if they were told any of the gruesome details that have emerged from the lawsuit filed by Clark’s family last week.
The family seeks an unspecified amount of damages.