SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – About 200 people demonstrated in Sacramento on Saturday to protest the fatal police shooting of Stephon Clark, in the latest of nearly two weeks of mostly peaceful rallies since the unarmed black man was gunned down in his grandmother’s yard.
The death of the 22-year-old father of two was the latest in a string of killings of black men by police that have triggered street protests and fueled a renewed national debate about bias in the U.S. criminal justice system.
Saturday’s demonstration brought together a multi-racial crowd, many holding signs such as “Stop Police Rage” and “Power to the People.” It was led by retired National Basket-ball Association (NBA) player Matt Barnes, who grew up in the area and had two stints with the Sacramento Kings NBA franchise.
“We’re here today to raise awareness, to come together peacefully and to have some accountability for the officers, not only in Sacramento but across the country, who have been doing this,” Barnes told the Sacramento Bee newspaper.
Some of Clark’s relatives attended the gathering in a city plaza. It followed a more heated protest overnight, during which demonstrators yelled expletives at police clad in riot gear.
Clark was shot on the night of March 18 by police responding to a report that someone was breaking windows. Police said the officers feared he had a gun, but that he was later found to have been holding a cellphone.
Police have said he was moving towards officers in a menacing way. The shooting was captured on a body cam video released by police.
On Friday, an attorney for Clark’s family released a private autopsy showing most of the eight bullets that hit Clark struck him in the back, contradicting the police version of events.
Clark was shot six times in the back, once in the side and once in the leg, said the attorney, Benjamin Crump.
“This independent autopsy affirms that Stephon was not a threat to police and was slain in another senseless police killing under increasingly questionable circumstances,” Crump said.
The Sacramento Police Department said it would have no further comment until after the release of the findings of an official autopsy by the county coroner, and a review by state and local prosecutors.
In several days of sporadic protests, protesters have blocked traffic and twice delayed fans from reaching games played by the Kings at the Golden 1 Center.
