Officer cleared in Seaside Auto Mall officer-involved shooting

No charges will be filed against the Seaside police officer involved in the deadly shooting of a man at the Seaside Auto Mall in 2015, according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

On October 14, 2015, three Seaside police officers responded to a disturbance call regarding a man named Michael Donald Clark. The caller reported a man loitering around, refusing to leave, and described him as appearing to be under the influence.

According to the D.A.’s Office, when one of the officers tried to speak with Clark, Clark became increasingly hostile, eventually shooting at the officer with a handgun and barely missing him.

Another officer then discharged his own firearm at Clark, killing him, the D.A.’s Office said.

The D.A.’s Office concluded the officer reacted with a “reasonable belief that Michael Donald Clark posed an imminent deadly threat when the officer shot Clark in self-defense and defense of others.”

Further investigation on Clark revealed he had an extensive history of “violence, drug use and mental heath treatment and incarceration.” The D.A.’s Office also said Clark had an almost toxic amount of methamphetamine in his system that day.