Stephon Clark’s brother storms Sacramento council meeting and confronts mayor

Protesters disrupted a Sacramento City Council meeting in a dramatic show of public outrage at the death of Stephon Clark, who was shot by police officers despite being unarmed.

Anger has rippled through Sacramento in the wake of Clark’s death, spurring mass demonstrations and calls to prosecute the police officers who killed Clark in his grandmother’s backyard.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Sacramento City Hall, chanting Clark’s name. At one point his brother Stevante burst into the City Council chambers shouting “Stephon Clark” and perched himself on the dais next to Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

Hours of anguished testimony followed, with speakers talking about what they called systemic racism in policing and governance. They invoked other African-American men who have been killed by Sacramento police in recent years.

At one point activist Berry Accius urged the audience to point their cell phones at the city council - a reference to the police officers opening fire on Stephon Clark, mistakenly believing he was armed, and finding only a cell phone.

“Does this look like a gun to you”? Mr Accius asked. “We are at our moment, Sacramento, and we, Sacramento, must change together”.

The city council meeting ultimately adjourned early. Protesters marched to the nearby basketball arena where the Sacramento Kings play, blocking guests from entering and forcing the arena to close its doors to ticketed guests.

Demonstrators had last week delayed the start of a game there as they locked arms around the arena’s entrances and obstructed freeways.

The sustained public protest came as California attorney general Xavier Becerra announced his office would oversee the probe of Stephon’s death, part of an effort to reassure the community that the shooting would be thoroughly investigated.

In a radio interview the morning after the turbulent city council meeting, Mr Steinberg said it was important that protesters were given a venue to air their grievances.

“I think it would have been seen as disrespectful to the community had we not created a forum for people to talk”, Mr Steinberg told Capital Public Radio.

Referencing the confrontation by Stevante, Mr Steinberg said “it’s not appropriate, but in this instance I think it’s important for me, for us to turn the other cheek”.

“I didn’t like it. It’s not protocol”, Mr Steinberg said, but “in this instance I will bear that pain because that’s what the community was feeling and it’s certainly what the brother is feeling”.