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| Hundreds at Sacramento City Hall Protest Police Killing of Stephon Clark | Hundreds at Sacramento City Hall Protest Police Killing of Stephon Clark |
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| SACRAMENTO — Hundreds of protesters temporarily took over the main foyer at Sacramento City Hall on Tuesday evening to protest the death of Stephon Clark, who was fatally shot by two Sacramento police officers last week in his grandmother’s backyard while they investigated a vandalism complaint. | SACRAMENTO — Hundreds of protesters temporarily took over the main foyer at Sacramento City Hall on Tuesday evening to protest the death of Stephon Clark, who was fatally shot by two Sacramento police officers last week in his grandmother’s backyard while they investigated a vandalism complaint. |
| The City Council held a special meeting Tuesday evening to hear public comments about the shooting; it was a night of tears for many, and a night of rage for others. As black community leaders explained their frustrations to the city’s leadership within the council’s public chamber — which proceeded largely uninterrupted — about 300 protesters outside in the foyer chanted raucously for about an hour, while police officers clad in riot gear looked on. | The City Council held a special meeting Tuesday evening to hear public comments about the shooting; it was a night of tears for many, and a night of rage for others. As black community leaders explained their frustrations to the city’s leadership within the council’s public chamber — which proceeded largely uninterrupted — about 300 protesters outside in the foyer chanted raucously for about an hour, while police officers clad in riot gear looked on. |
| “You shoot us down, we shut you down!” they shouted. | “You shoot us down, we shut you down!” they shouted. |
| At the top of the meeting, Mayor Darrell Steinberg spoke emphatically about the anger and grief in the community and promised to press the Police Department for answers about the protocols and policies that led to Mr. Clark’s death. | At the top of the meeting, Mayor Darrell Steinberg spoke emphatically about the anger and grief in the community and promised to press the Police Department for answers about the protocols and policies that led to Mr. Clark’s death. |
| “In the days, weeks and months ahead, you will be heard, and we will be listening,’’ he told the group, as many nodded in approval. “I want to acknowledge that people are hurting, angry, grieving and traumatized.” | |
| Outrage over Mr. Clark’s death initially centered on the fact that he was shot in his grandmother’s yard, and intensified when it was revealed that he was shot at 20 times and that a helicopter unit was dispatched in response to a routine vandalism call. Though the officers on the scene initially said Mr. Clark, 22, was armed, they later found he was holding his cellphone, not a weapon. | Outrage over Mr. Clark’s death initially centered on the fact that he was shot in his grandmother’s yard, and intensified when it was revealed that he was shot at 20 times and that a helicopter unit was dispatched in response to a routine vandalism call. Though the officers on the scene initially said Mr. Clark, 22, was armed, they later found he was holding his cellphone, not a weapon. |
| Xavier Becerra, the state’s attorney general, announced on Tuesday that his office would oversee the investigation into Mr. Clark’s death and would review the department’s training and protocols. Chief Daniel Hahn of the Sacramento Police Department welcomed the state’s involvement. Mr. Hahn is Sacramento’s first black police chief. | Xavier Becerra, the state’s attorney general, announced on Tuesday that his office would oversee the investigation into Mr. Clark’s death and would review the department’s training and protocols. Chief Daniel Hahn of the Sacramento Police Department welcomed the state’s involvement. Mr. Hahn is Sacramento’s first black police chief. |
| Not everyone has been comforted by news of an independent investigation. A few minutes into the meeting, Stevante Clark, Mr. Clark’s brother, stormed into the council chamber and cursed repeatedly at Mr. Steinberg. Emotions remained high during the public testimony. | Not everyone has been comforted by news of an independent investigation. A few minutes into the meeting, Stevante Clark, Mr. Clark’s brother, stormed into the council chamber and cursed repeatedly at Mr. Steinberg. Emotions remained high during the public testimony. |
| “You’re killing us. You’re killing us. It’s genocide, it feels like genocide,” Tanya Faison, the leader of Black Lives Matter Sacramento, said at the meeting. “Those officers need to be fired. That’s the only way we’re going to get justice, to start, when you fire those officers.” | “You’re killing us. You’re killing us. It’s genocide, it feels like genocide,” Tanya Faison, the leader of Black Lives Matter Sacramento, said at the meeting. “Those officers need to be fired. That’s the only way we’re going to get justice, to start, when you fire those officers.” |
| Berry Accius, a south Sacramento activist, asked everyone in the room to take out their cellphone and to point it at the council members. “Does this look like a gun?” Several people behind him had tears in their eyes. | |
| “For far too long, Sacramento has been comfortable with antiblackness. Let’s keep it real,” he said during a protest earlier in the day in front of the county district attorney’s office in downtown Sacramento. “This is the city of diversity, multiculturalism? Those are lies.” | “For far too long, Sacramento has been comfortable with antiblackness. Let’s keep it real,” he said during a protest earlier in the day in front of the county district attorney’s office in downtown Sacramento. “This is the city of diversity, multiculturalism? Those are lies.” |
| About three hours into the meeting, protesters outside City Hall began to bang on the windows to the chamber. Officers went to investigate and were repeatedly shoved as they tried to move someone who was banging. The officers were surrounded and drew their batons; they formed a protective circle and retreated back inside as demonstrators shouted expletives at them. About two dozen additional police officers were called to the scene. | |
| Sgt. Vance Chandler of the Sacramento Police Department said that as of about 8:30 p.m. local time, the police had made one arrest outside City Hall in connection to crowds there. | |
| “Tensions are very high,” he said, “and people are angry.” | |
| Sergeant Chandler also confirmed that protesters had stormed the doors of the Golden 1 Center, forcing Sacramento Kings officials to close them for the second time in a week. | |
| In a tweet, the basketball team said ticket holders who were unable to enter the arena would receive refund information. A similar sequence of events occurred last Thursday. | |
| The ambiguous circumstances surrounding Mr. Clark’s death have stirred grief, rage and fear among black people in California’s capital who feel they are regularly discriminated against by the city and county Police Departments. | The ambiguous circumstances surrounding Mr. Clark’s death have stirred grief, rage and fear among black people in California’s capital who feel they are regularly discriminated against by the city and county Police Departments. |
| From a national vantage point, Mr. Clark’s death is the latest example of young black men being killed by police officers. Here in Sacramento, the death hit a raw nerve among black residents who have long felt their communities are being policed too heavily and unfairly, particularly in heavily minority neighborhoods like Meadowview, where Mr. Clark lived. | From a national vantage point, Mr. Clark’s death is the latest example of young black men being killed by police officers. Here in Sacramento, the death hit a raw nerve among black residents who have long felt their communities are being policed too heavily and unfairly, particularly in heavily minority neighborhoods like Meadowview, where Mr. Clark lived. |
| Mr. Clark’s family has hired the civil rights lawyer Ben Crump as it explores a potential lawsuit against the Police Department. Mr. Crump has been involved in other high-profile shooting deaths of young black men, representing the families of both Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. He said he decided to get involved when he saw body camera footage of the shooting that showed police officers firing repeatedly. | Mr. Clark’s family has hired the civil rights lawyer Ben Crump as it explores a potential lawsuit against the Police Department. Mr. Crump has been involved in other high-profile shooting deaths of young black men, representing the families of both Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. He said he decided to get involved when he saw body camera footage of the shooting that showed police officers firing repeatedly. |
| “It shocks the conscience, the same way as when you saw the video of Michael Brown laying on the ground in Ferguson in broad daylight,” he said. | “It shocks the conscience, the same way as when you saw the video of Michael Brown laying on the ground in Ferguson in broad daylight,” he said. |
| No lawsuit has been filed yet, Mr. Crump said Tuesday, but “we are going to explore every legal remedy to get justice for the family.” | No lawsuit has been filed yet, Mr. Crump said Tuesday, but “we are going to explore every legal remedy to get justice for the family.” |
| But Mr. Crump emphasized that in high-profile criminal cases when proven assailants are white, such as the Dylann Roof church shooting in South Carolina and the serial bomber in Austin, Tex., this month, police officers showed restraint that is not afforded to black suspects. | But Mr. Crump emphasized that in high-profile criminal cases when proven assailants are white, such as the Dylann Roof church shooting in South Carolina and the serial bomber in Austin, Tex., this month, police officers showed restraint that is not afforded to black suspects. |
| “Why is that young black people and young brown people don’t get the same consideration?” he asked. | “Why is that young black people and young brown people don’t get the same consideration?” he asked. |
| Mr. Crump said the family believed the Police Department was trying to conceal the truth. Officers on the scene muted their body cameras after Mr. Clark was killed. | Mr. Crump said the family believed the Police Department was trying to conceal the truth. Officers on the scene muted their body cameras after Mr. Clark was killed. |
| Dawnya Walker, 43, had never attended a political protest in her life, let alone a City Council meeting, but she waited outside City Hall on Tuesday with a new urgency to speak her mind about black lives and black pain. | Dawnya Walker, 43, had never attended a political protest in her life, let alone a City Council meeting, but she waited outside City Hall on Tuesday with a new urgency to speak her mind about black lives and black pain. |
| “I’m tired of the same old story over and over again,’’ she said. “We need to see a change. There are a lot of people who just don’t understand. I’m hearing, he shouldn’t have run. That’s not a crime worth being gunned down. And we run because we’re scared because they have the right to shoot us, they get away with it every day.” |