The family of Stephon Clark on Saturday joined hundreds of people at a rally urging California’s capital city not to let his memory or calls for police reform fade nearly two weeks after the 22-year-old unarmed black man was killed by Sacramento officers.
Clark’s fiancee, Salena Manni, stood on stage with his two young sons, grandmother and uncle for the gathering organized by Sacramento native and former NBA player Matt Barnes, who pledged to create a scholarship fund for the children of black people killed by police.
“All he wanted to do was go see his sons again, and unfortunately he can’t,” Curtis Gordon, Clark’s uncle, said as he recalled seeing his nephew hours before the shooting. “So remember that — while we mourn, while we shout, while we cry — because it ain’t just our pain, it’s their pain.”
Barnes amplified calls for charges against the two officers who are on administrative leave.
“It’s more than color — it comes down to right and wrong,” he said. “You’re trying to tell me I can kill someone and get a paid vacation?”
The peaceful demonstration that drew between 200 and 300 people to a downtown park came a day after a private autopsy released by the family showed Clark was shot from behind.
Clark was killed on March 18 by two police officers responding to a call of someone breaking car windows. They yelled that he had a gun before shooting, but it was only a cellphone.
The police department said it has not received an official autopsy report from the coroner’s office.
Advocates and faith leaders called for justice not just for Clark, but for all black people killed by police.
Family members of Joseph Mann, who was killed by Sacramento police in 2016, also spoke.
The chairman of a police oversight commission urged attendees to continue their activism by showing up to meetings and pushing for systemic change.
Community leaders urged the city to set a national example.
“This little small town can show this nation our great big heart,” the Reverend Kevin Ross said.
About 150 people attended another vigil and protest outside a sheriff’s department office. It was the latest disruptive, but mostly peaceful demonstration since Clark was killed.
Protesters have twice blocked fans from entering games involving the NBA’s Sacramento Kings at a downtown arena, but there were no signs of trouble amid a big police presence at a game on Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors.
The Friday release of the private autopsy commissioned by Clark’s family has prompted fresh outrage.
Pathologist Bennet Omalu, known for his study of a degenerative brain condition in football players, announced that Clark was hit by eight bullets — six in the back, one in the neck and one in the thigh — and took three to 10 minutes to die.
Police waited about five minutes before rendering medical aid.
It was unclear if Clark would have survived had he gotten immediate medical attention, Omalu said.
A day after the shooting, police distributed a news release that said the officers who shot Clark “saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands.”
Police video of the shooting does not clearly capture all that happened after Clark ran into his grandmother’s backyard.
Clark initially moved toward the officers, who were peeking out from behind a corner of the house, but it is unclear if he was facing them or knew they were there when they opened fire after shouting “gun, gun, gun.”
After 20 shots, officers called to him, apparently believing he might still be alive and armed.
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