Sheriff’s vehicle hits woman at police shooting protest in Calif.
A female demonstrator attending a candlelight vigil for Stephon Clark in south Sacramento on Saturday night was struck by a sheriff’s vehicle as protesters began marching in the streets.
The injured woman, Wanda Cleveland, was released from a hospital yesterday morning with bruises to her arm and back of her head, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Early yesterday, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department released a statement saying “the collision occurred while the patrol vehicle was traveling at slow speeds.”
The statement from sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Shaun Hampton also said the vehicle “sustained scratches, dents, and a shattered rear window” caused by vandals in the crowd.
Cleveland told the Bee that the patrol vehicle was accelerating and “never even stopped” before hitting her knee and knocking her to the ground.
“It was a hit and run. If I did that I’d be charged,” Cleveland said. “It’s disregard for human life.”
The California Highway Patrol is now investigating the incident, and the Sheriff’s Department has begun an internal review, Hampton said.
The incident capped a week of protest marches and demonstrations over the police shooting of Clark that has drawn national attention. Clark was fatally shot by two Sacramento police officers in his grandmother’s backyard March 18 as they pursued a vandal in his neighborhood.
Clark, 22, was shot eight times, including six times in the back, an independent autopsy concluded. He was found with only a cellphone. No weapon was recovered.