Private doctor defends autopsy in Sacramento shooting case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A doctor hired by the family of an unarmed black man shot by California police is defending his autopsy a day after the coroner’s office called into question his findings.

Dr. Bennet Omalu says Wednesday that he stands firmly behind his examination of 22-year-old Stephon Clark. Lawyers for Clark’s family accuse Sacramento County officials of trying to undercut Omalu’s findings that Clark was shot in the back.

The official autopsy released Tuesday by Sacramento police says Clark was shot seven times, not eight.

A pathologist retained by the Sacramento County Coroner says Omalu mistook an exit wound for an entry wound, leaving the impression that police first shot Clark from the back.

The county’s reviewer says Clark was most likely shot as he approached police, consistent with the officers’ story.