{"id":61740,"date":"2018-03-30T04:59:39","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T04:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=61740"},"modified":"2018-03-30T04:59:39","modified_gmt":"2018-03-30T04:59:39","slug":"sacramento-hopes-set-national-example-stephon-clark-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/sacramento-hopes-set-national-example-stephon-clark-shooting.html","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento hopes to set national example after Stephon Clark shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sacramento hopes to set national example after Stephon Clark shooting<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The cries for justice booming off the walls of the district attorney\u2019s office here echo in places like Missouri, Minnesota and New York, other states where black men have died at the hands of police.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSay his name!\u201d went the chant. \u201cStephon Clark!\u201d came the reply, over and over as a multiracial crowd of protesters with signs saying \u201cConvict cop killers\u201d vented their anger Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n

But while the volatile scene packs a painful sameness after the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Philando Castile in Saint Paul and Eric Garner on Staten Island, there is hope among some residents here that the March 18 killing of 22-year-old Clark by two police officers will bring changes that can be a role model for the nation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be up to us to affect change, and we can do it because fundamentally we are a highly diverse, integrated community,\u201d says Joany Titherington, president of the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, home to a large part of the city\u2019s African-American population.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have black, brown and white people all living next to each other, so what this really is is a police training issue, where people shoot first and ask questions later,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a systemic problem national politicians don\u2019t seem to want to deal with, even though no town in America is immune to this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Clark\u2019s death is far from the first police interaction turned tragic, as the local chapter of Black Lives Matter lists a dozen violent encounters last year alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

But it’s a death that’s outraged people so much that they’ve stormed city council meetings and blocked entrances to Sacramento Kings games.<\/span><\/p>\n

\nMuch of that furor stems from the fact that authorities were on a hunt for a vandalism suspect when a police helicopter spotted a man with a tool bar in his hand. When the two police officers reached the suspect on foot, they found Clark with an object in his hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Saying that they feared for their safety, each officer fired 10 rounds into Clark. The object turned out to be his cellphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

White House stance draws furor<\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday started with a peaceful funeral for Clark, whose death’s national importance was hammered home during a eulogy by Rev. Al Sharpton. In his remarks, Sharpton blasted President Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat means improvements in jobs and schools, the reopening of community centers and the repaving of streets,\u201d he said. \u201cSacramento is enjoying a renaissance right now, but that rising tide has to float all boats.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fueling the sense that change must come from within is an apparent lack of national leadership on the matter of race.<\/span><\/p>\n

White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said Thursday that the Clark shooting was a \u201clocal matter,\u201d an assessment that was met with outrage by Congressional Black Caucus chairman Cedric Richmond.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnarmed black people are killed by police in enough states with enough frequency for this to be examined at the federal level,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

That sentiment was echoed by Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a national problem, it\u2019s what we\u2019ve seen in Ferguson, in Charlotte, in New York and now in Sacramento,\u201d he told USA TODAY. \u201cUntil law enforcement values the lives of African-Americans the same as they value others, we will continue to have this problem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

New police chief brings hope<\/span><\/p>\n

Sacramentans aggrieved by the Clark killing take some solace in the fact that the city recently appointed its first African-American police chief, Daniel Hahn.<\/span><\/p>\n

Described by a retired Sacramento police captain as \u201cour Barack Obama\u201d in one recent profile, Hahn grew up in a south Sacramento area that is home to many of the city\u2019s African-Americans, who make up 14% of the city\u2019s 500,000 residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whites, Hispanics and Asians represent the rest of the city\u2019s makeup almost in equal proportions. Downtown, that mix is apparent as multi-racial groups gather for lunch in green parks. The most visible issue seems to be homelessness, with small encampments scattered throughout the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Hahn\u2019s ethnicity buoys those hopeful for solutions to festering policing issues, the problem is too entrenched to be fixed overnight, says Michael Blair, a longtime community activist in the Oak Park neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a black police chief might offer some relief, but the truth is it will take time to turn these issues around,\u201d says Blair. \u201cIf as a police officer you\u2019re scared of black kids, if we\u2019re just strangers to you, then on both sides it\u2019s just an interaction where people are just looking to preserve their own lives at all costs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Blair says that the answers can only come from community relations programs that aim to familiarize residents with police, particularly in the case of white officers. \u201cBlack people spend all day surrounded by white people, so they adjust, but that\u2019s not true the other way around,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some residents left out of boom<\/span><\/p>\n

The area of Sacramento where Clark was killed faces other issues, including escalating housing prices that are forcing some longtime residents out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s downtown area once was home to a large and thriving black community that was pushed out in the 1950s and 1960s as the area was redeveloped. That resulted in residents moving to Oak Park, which has long been working class with mostly black and Hispanic residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now due to an influx of wealthy Silicon Valley refugees drawn to the Sacramento area’s comparatively more affordable housing, the trickle down effect is felt among the city’s poor residents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a bigger fight here as the area gentrifies. More and more people who originally owned homes there or grew up there are not able to afford to live in that community,\u201d says Paula Austin, a professor of African-American studies at Sacramento State University. \u201cRight now, there are tensions around the differences between renewal and gentrification.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Sacramento protests seem familiar in light of the strong responses after Ferguson and other police killings, Austin says that the passionate response of area residents represents a newly politicized populace.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s new here is the number of folks who are talking, thinking and publically protesting,\u201d said Austin, whose research is focused on anti-police brutality campaigns. \u201cAs someone who teaches civil rights history, public protests are incredibly important. They bring the issue to a larger audience and also bring people together who are interested in solving the problem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Funeral attendees stress peace<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside Stephon Clark\u2019s funeral, Cecile Thompson, a mother of four young children, says that speaking out is the only way to prevent another tragedy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo mother should have to go through this and lose their children this type of way,\u201d said Thompson. \u201cThis is horrific, this is violence, and all mothers need to get up and stand for peace and love because our children should not be dying like this. I hope this makes a difference, us all being here, for our children\u2019s sake.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nearby, Cameron Kelly expressed frustration that Clark\u2019s death comes on top of a host of other societal challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been around the block, I\u2019ve seen different states, cities, and counties (and seen) how there is an odd displacement, an odd feeling that people have toward blacks,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s this heavy cloud that black people have to work with.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the peaceful nature of the funeral gathering was, for some, a cause for pride and hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s already been a change,\u201d said Steven Ash, a local activist. \u201cSo far with all these protests there\u2019s only been one person that\u2019s been arrested. That deserves a clap or some kind of gratitude. That shows a lot about Sacramento in itself and the kind of people we have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Local solidarity in the face of concern<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in downtown, a strong spring sun was beating down on protesters in front of the district attorney\u2019s office. Despite the heat, the voices didn\u2019t flag.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHands up!\u201d was met by a forceful \u201cDon\u2019t shoot,\u201d \u201cNo justice\u201d was answered with \u201cNo peace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tanya Faison, leader of Black Lives Matter Sacramento, which recently launched a Copwatch program aimed at getting community members to document police activity, was buoyed by the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we\u2019re optimistic, because we\u2019re still in a lot of pain, but we are vigorous and will fight until we get what we want,\u201d she says, adding that a conviction against the officers involved in Clark\u2019s shooting would be a starting point.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chanting along with the protesters was Lindsay Williams, also a member of the local Black Lives Matter movement and a Staten Island native who has called Sacramento home for the past five years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 demeanor echoed the climate of her Sacramento neighbors: angry, realistic and, ultimately, optimistic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an amazing solidarity among our community that cuts across races and agendas,\u201d she says. \u201cNow, I\u2019m 27, so based on what I\u2019ve lived through I really don\u2019t expect changes. This country has not given me much to have faith in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Williams then looked at the chanting crowd and smiled. \u201cBut,\u201d she said, \u201cthese people do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/2018\/03\/29\/sacramento-hopes-set-national-example-after-stephon-clark-shooting\/471713002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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