Grief and rage at funeral for shooting victim
SACRAMENTO: Hundreds of mourners joined an outpouring of grief and rage at the funeral of an unarmed black man shot dead by police in California’s capital Sacramento.
The service, where civil rights activist Al Sharpton delivered an angry, rousing speech, became a rallying point for people demanding justice in the face of police violence against African Americans.
Body camera and surveillance helicopter footage released last week showed police chasing and then firing 20 rounds at 22-year-old Stephon Clark, fearing that he was carrying a weapon. He was actually holding an iPhone.
An uproar following the March 18 incident erupted into days of protest in the streets of downtown Sacramento, with marchers blocking traffic and clashing with police in riot gear.
A rabbi sang at the Bayside Boss Church in southern Sacramento, not far from the neighborhood where Clark died, while Muslim cleric Zaid Shakir led prayers at the ecumenical service.
“We’re tired of seeing our people die. It’s not only our people, this is a systemic problem... this is a uniquely American problem,” Shakir said on Thursday.
But it was Clark’s emotional brother Stevante Clark who dominated proceedings, dancing and goofing around as gospel numbers including Take Me to the King and Can’t Nobody Love Me Like Jesus rang out.
Overwrought but defiant, he led the crowd several times in a chant of “Stephon Clark! Stephon Clark,” declaring as part of a rambling ad-libbed speech that “the Clark family will never die,” before breaking down in tears and embracing Sharpton.
“You don’t tell people in pain how to handle their pain. You don’t tell people when you kill their loved one how to grieve,” Sharpton said.
“We came because this boy should be alive today... we will never let you forget the name of Stephon Clark until we get justice,” he said.
The incident was triggered by an emergency 911 phone call on March 18 stating that a man was smashing car windows in the neighbourhood.
Clark appeared to fit the suspect’s profile and officers chased him, backed by a helicopter equipped with infrared cameras.
Clark – who police say remains the prime suspect – was recorded by the helicopter and police body-cams running through the neighbourhood before entering his backyard.
The officers burst into the yard with their weapons drawn and confronted the father-of-two before opening fire, each shot appearing as a flash on the helicopter’s infrared footage.