Mom sues Portland, wants ‘justice’ for slain son Manny Clark
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Rhoshelle Clark said she wants justice for her son, who was killed by Portland police in November 2022.
“He’s gonna get justice for what happened to him because he shouldn’t be dead,” she told KOIN 6 News. “My son was only 30 years old.”
Dozens of people gathered at the Policing Justice art exhibit at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art Saturday evening to remember Immanueal “Manny” Clark-Johnson. The vigil was held 2 days after Clark-Johnson’s family filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Portland, which accuses the officer involved and the city of Portland of excessive force, wrongful death and negligence for failing to provide emergency medical care.
Clark-Johnson was shot Nov. 19, 2022 by Officer Christopher Sathoff during a confrontation in the parking lot of Reedwood Friends Church in Southeast Portland following a short pursuit by police, who suspected the people in the car of being involved in an armed robbery at a Super Deluxe.
According to grand jury transcripts, Sathoff had seen Clark-Johnson reach for his pocket and thought he had a gun. But Clark-Johnson was unarmed at the time.
The grand jury eventually cleared Sathoff of any wrongdoing back in September 2023.
Man arrested for DUII in NE Portland hit-run crash: PPB
Attorney Juan Chavez with the Oregon Justice Resource Center said police should have noticed something was wrong during the pursuit.
“They never stopped to think, ‘Why is this car in the opposite direction? Why does this car have less people than we were told might be in that vehicle?And why are we pursuing this person?'” Chavez said. “It’s one thing to call it a mistake. It’s another to willfully pursue the wrong person for minutes on end. And then to concoct a poorly planned felony stop on them.”
The federal lawsuit claims Clark-Johnson was not armed and had his back turned when Sathoff opened fire.
“They need to change something. My son, he didn’t deserve this,” Rhoshelle Clark said. “He was kind, he gave, you know, to everyone that he could.”
“It’s really sad that he’s gone because now I have nobody,” his sister, Leanesha, said. “He was my only sibling. He’s the only one I had. He taught me everything. He was more like a dad to me than my brother.”
Rhoshelle Clark knows the lawsuit won’t heal her wound.
“I know my son is gone and can’t bring him back. But maybe we can bring some justice and change some laws.”
The Portland city attorney declined to comment on this pending litigation.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
