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Stephon Clark’s grandparents’ dilapidated home got a makeover thanks to a car dealer, Paul Blanco, who wanted to lend a helping hand in the midst of their hurt, the Sacramento Bee reports.
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The home, which had been a painful reminder of the loss Tommy and Sequita Thompson endured when their 22-year-old grandson was gunned down in the backyard by police, was falling apart. The brick façade was barely handing on, the brick pillars were so weak that you could give them a shove and they would fall apart, a contractor said.
It was City Councilman Larry Carr who took notice that the house was in bad shape and made it his crusade to help the Thompsons restore their home.
“One thing we can say was that the family was hurting,” he said. “I could see the house needed some upgrades and the spot where Stephon was shot brought anguish to them … And we thought changing the look of things would help the family get some comfort and relief.”
Carr enlisted south Sacramento businessman Paul Blanco to help.
“Larry Carr came to me and said the family house is falling apart, and I said, ‘OK, let’s do something about it,’” Blanco said.
Stephon’s grandmother Sequita had had a hard time grappling with his death and a hard time living in the home after he was killed in the backyard.
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“The family that lives in this house is the center of the family,” Blanco said. “So this is the community center for the entire family … They go there for inspiration, for leadership, elders gather there with the children. There’s constantly people going home.”
The home has been in the Thompson family for more than 40 years. Blanco invested more than $30,000 of his own money towards the project. He also hired the contractors to repair the home and raised money for the project by selling items, he said.
Through the process, Blanco has gotten to know the Clark family and said “We’ve become friends, and it’s a treasure to me,” he said. Blanco said although he didn’t know Stephon, his son was friends with him.
The house has been restored. The brick façade was pulled off and replaced. The back patio has been rebuilt and the siding on the house got a fresh coat of new dark gray paint. A new awning hangs over the patio.
“First, I give honor to God and give him the glory, you know, because he’s the one that’s getting us through this,” Sequita said. “And I also thank him for sending all the wonderful people out here to do this for us. And it won’t bring (Stephon) back but it has him in spirit through the home . . . It will just be wonderful for a new start.”
The Shooting
Stephon Clark was killed March 18 when Sacramento police got a call reporting a car burglar in the city’s Meadowview area. The two officers reportedly chased Clark into the back yard of his grandparents’ home and ordered him to show them his hands, then fired 20 shots at him, believing he had a weapon. However, he only had a cellphone in his possession.
Family attorney Benjamin Crump said the autopsy result “affirms that Stephon was not a threat to police and was slain in another senseless police killing under increasingly questionable circumstances.”
The procedure was conducted by pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, whose study of a degenerative brain condition in football players prompted the NFL to adopt new safety rules designed to prevent concussions, also determined Clark took up to 10 minutes to die, the Associated Press reported. The officers have been criticized by activists for allegedly failing to render medical aid immediately after the shooting.
“The proposition is he was facing officers is inconsistent with prevailing forensic evidence,” Omalu said at a Friday news conference with Crump. “He was facing the house, with his left to the officers,” Omalu said. “He wasn’t facing the officers. His left back was facing to the officers.”
The officers’ body cameras were muted, although police chief Daniel Hahn has reportedly said he does not know why they were.