Sacramento rallies for reform, one protester injured

Saturday protests drew hundreds to downtown Sacramento, where the family of Stephon Clark, who was killed by police on March 18, called for police reforms. The 22-year-old’s family spoke at a rally Saturday afternoon organized by Matt Barnes, a Sacramento native and former NBA player. Clark’s fiancée, Salena Manni, appeared on stage with his two young sons. “All he wanted to do was go see his sons again, and unfortunately he can’t,” Clark’s uncle, Curtis Gordon, said at the rally. The night he was killed, police responding to a vandalism call encountered Clark outside his grandmother’s house. Someone yelled he had a gun before officers opened fire. An autopsy commissioned by his family showed he had eight bullet wounds, several of which were in his back, and police said he had a cellphone but not a gun when he was shot. Protests took place throughout last week and remained mostly peaceful with few injuries or damage to property, according to news reports. At a vigil Saturday night, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department SUV struck a woman as it moved away from protesters who had damaged the vehicle. While being treated for minor injuries at a local hospital, the woman, Wanda Cleveland, told The Sacramento Bee she was the victim of a hit-and-run. “If I did that, I’d be charged,” she said. Police said the collision occurred at slow speeds and was being reviewed both internally and by the California Highway Patrol.