Megan Cassidy, and Garrett Mitchell

The Republic | azcentral.com

For years before Kayden Clarke was fatally shot by Mesa police in February, the 24-year-old battled what he said were debilitating mental-health issues, sparked frequent police contact and appeared to be quick to alienate those in his support community.

Clarke had hoped for a fresh start though, his family said: His gender transition — to be a man named Kayden Clarke — was to be the "clean slate," a family member said.

Mesa police documents released Thursday shed light on the troubled history of Clarke, a transgender man whose death spurred a local discussion on the intersection of mental health and police use of force.

The documents, 911 recordings and body-camera video also offer a fuller picture of what occurred on Feb. 4, when he was killed by officers responding to a suicidal-person call at his east Mesa home the morning of Feb. 4.

Authorities said Clarke, wielding a knife with an 8-inch blade pointed to his stomach, charged at officers as they attempted to intervene.

Clarke was known for a viral YouTube video showing him suffering an Asperger's syndrome-related meltdown. In a 1-minute clip on YouTube posted June 1, 2015, Clarke is shown sobbing and hitting himself repeatedly in the chest and head. His 4-year-old service dog, Sampson, comforts him, and the dog can be seen moving Clarke's hands away from his body so that he stops self-harming.

The video had more than 2.5 million views and nearly 1,500 comments, many of which thanked Clarke for his courage and his attempt to raise awareness of the challenges of Asperger's syndrome, an autism-spectrum disorder.

The shooting embroiled both the autism and transgender communities; Clarke's friends said the combination of Clarke's transition, the Asperger's and other health issues weighed heavily on him.

Mesa police: He refused to drop the knife

The Mesa police report, received by The Republic after a public-records request, provides officers' descriptions of what happened at his home near 80th Street and Brown Road. The report describes Clarke by his legal name, Danielle Jacobs.

Officers were dispatched to Clarke's home about 10:30 a.m. after receiving a call about a suicidal subject.

Two friends had reported that Clarke had planned to hurt himself. One had received an email that told in graphic detail how he planned to do it, and asking the friend to take care of his dog.

The friends had reason to believe Clarke was serious. Two years earlier, one told officers, Clarke had threatened to jump off a freeway bridge. Others would later point officers to a YouTube video in which Clarke claimed he had attempted "suicide by cop."

One friend, Linda Deede, led officers into the home where Clarke was living in an attached unit. The friend approached Clarke in his bedroom, but after a brief confrontation Deede was sent out of the home by police. As she left, Deede told officers Clarke was holding something to his chest.

Officers said they began talking to Clarke from the narrow hallway but initially they couldn't see a person. Clarke refused to show himself to police, telling officers that he didn't want to go back on drugs and "was not going back there," according to the report.

"I just need to see you so that we can get this resolved and we’ll go from there," patrol Officer Joseph Demarco reported saying. "Unfortunately, you made some statements that warrant attention from us now ... we can’t go away at this point but I do need you to show me yourself.”

At some point, a second officer, Tim Lefever, left to go back to his patrol car and retrieve a beanbag shotgun. Another officer, Stephen Shannon, walked up behind Demarco to assist.

After some more discussion, police said Clarke said, "I'll let you see me," and jumped into the view of the doorway. Demarco said he could see a butcher knife in Clarke's hand, with the blade along his forearm. Demarco and Shannon drew their firearms; both said Clarke repeatedly refused to drop the knife.

As Shannon reached to turn on a light, Demarco said Clarke began advancing on them, prompting them both to fire one round.

"And then (he) stops and (he) just falls to the ground," Demarco said. "...There looked like there was no stopping (him) with (his) movements. (He) wasn’t slowing down."

Clarke was struck in his abdomen and was transported to the HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, where he died a little more than two hours after officers were dispatched.

The police investigation into the shooting was submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for review. The office has not yet reviewed the shooting or made any determination about it, Jerry Cobb, a spokesman for County Attorney Bill Montgomery, said Friday.

Community: More training, awareness needed

Shock waves reverberated through the local autistic and LGBT communities, which were quick to respond to Clarke's death. Mesa police also reacted quickly.

Cynthia Macluskie, vice president of the Autism Society of Greater Phoenix, told The Arizona Republic in February that there was "quite a bit of anger" in the wake of Clarke's death, as he was very famous in the community.

She said the Mesa Police Department, as well as law enforcement across the Valley, needed "significantly more training" on how to handle crisis situations involving people diagnosed with conditions such as autism and Asperger's.

Eight days after the shooting, Mesa police announced the creation of a full-time crisis-response team to help the department better interact with those suffering from mental illness or cognitive disabilities.

A community candlelight vigil held Feb. 15 drew about 100 people from throughout the state to a downtown Phoenix park, where attendees spoke of Clarke's impact and the mistreatment of those seeking gender-reassignment surgery and suffering with mental illness.

Gabe Parker, an old friend of Clarke's, attended the vigil and described Clarke as an upbeat personality who was passionate about his dogs.

"He was a free spirit, he was a really good person," Parker said. "It feels like a dream; it doesn't feel real."

Clarke's death spurred members of the media and law-enforcement authorities to discuss how to report on Arizona's gender-nonconforming communities, including a common issue of incorrectly identifying the name or gender of a subject when public records do not list or recognize a person's status as transgender.

20 police reports: Clarke's troubled history

Interviews conducted during a follow-up investigation paint the picture of Clarke as a troubled individual who often burned bridges within his support system.

Police contact was a regular occurrence for Clarke, both as the reported victim and aggressor.

Over the span of a decade, Clarke was the subject of more than 20 Arizona police reports. Some police contacts resulted in Clarke being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, others spurred mental-health transports, and others reported Clarke saying he was a victim of theft, physical violence or cyberbullying.

Many of those who came forward after Clarke's death said Clarke was the one targeting them on social media.

Investigating officers fielded more than 30 email and voicemail messages from people in the service-dog community to report Clarke’s threatening or harassing statements.

Clark was "a very talented person with training," but was "very difficult to get along with," said Cassey Mertz, who was acquainted with Clarke in the online service-dog community.

One woman said Clarke’s threats had prompted her to obtain an order of protection against him.

Clarke's friend, Deede, told investigators her friend was extremely intelligent but pushed people away with his attitude. He had a lot of problems, Deede said, and hadn't gone downhill suddenly.

"Occasionally, (he) would say, 'I wish I wasn't here.' Pretty to the point but not directly threatening it," Deede said.

Kamela Verry, Clarke's aunt, told police Clarke had threatened suicide in the past. Verry said she had heard about Clarke wanting to change genders but wasn’t aware of any official look into medical procedures.

The intent, Verry said, “was to start all over with a clean slate."

Republic reporter Jerod MacDonald-Evoy contributed to this article.