Family of Durham man shot by officer calls for change in police practices

The family of Frank Clark, who was shot and killed during a struggle with three Durham police officers, is calling for changes in policing practices at the McDouglad Terrace community.

Clark, 34, of Durham, was shot and killed on Nov. 22 by Master Officer C.S. Barkley during a struggle involving three officers.

According to a report released late Tuesday, Barkley, officer M.D. Southerland and officer C.Q. Goss, members of the Violent Incident Response Team, were patrolling in the area of Wabash and Dayton streets around 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 22. All three officers were in uniform.

Southerland saw a man near Building 60 and got out of his patrol car to speak with him, the report said. Barkley then pulled up, and he and Southerland started talking to the man. During the conversation, the man, later identified as Clark, reached for his waistband and a struggle ensued.

During the struggle, the officers heard a shot. Southerland fell to the ground, and Barkley fired his duty weapon in response, the report said.

On Wednesday, Clark's family said Barkley needs to go. Jasmine Lloyd, who has a 7-month-old child with Clark, said she lost respect for Barkley long before he shot and killed Clark.

"Barkley got to be out them streets. He can't walk these streets no more. He got to be out of that uniform," Lloyd said.

Lloyd, along with community members and the attorneys representing the Clark family, said it is not just Barkley, but the three officers involved have a history in the community.

"We have had many conversations with the City of Durham, specifically the Durham Police Department and the professional standards division about these three very officers," said Ian Mance with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. "We stated in no uncertain terms a year and a half ago that we believed these officers represented a threat to this community."

Neighbors say the area is over-policed and that all future officers in the area should be in marked cars.

"We can do better by this community. We have to do better by this community," Dave Hall with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice said.

According to the report, a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun was found lying on the ground next to Clark. The gun had been reported stolen in January in Durham. During treatment from EMS, a white rock-like substance wrapped in a plastic bag fell out of Clark’s pants. The substance, all involved handguns and additional evidence were collected and given to the State Bureau of Investigation.

The three officers were placed on administrative assignment, and the SBI will investigate the shooting, standard procedure after an officer fires a weapon in the line of duty.

Barkley joined the Durham Police Department in 1997. Southerland joined the DPD in 2006, and officer Goss joined in 2005.

The police department declined our request Wednesday for an interview.