Bennie Lee Clark

Deadly force

A county officer shot unarmed Bennie Lee Clark after he reportedly broke into a home belonging to a man whose obituary had recently appeared in the newspaper. Clark was believed to have been responsible for a string of burglaries at homes whose residents were away because of family deaths. Police said he apparently chose his targets by reading obituary notices and officers were watching the obituaries to anticipate the next target. The house in which Clark was shot was one of three police were hiding in when Clark kicked in the door at around 8 p.m.