Family and mourners of Stephon Clark,an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by Sacramento police, are at a Sacramento church for his funeral. The Rev. Al Sharpton was tapped to give the eulogy at Thursday’s funeral for the 22-year-old at the Bayside of South Sacramento church.
Sharpton took the podium to give a rousing speech as the service was underway.
“They have been killing black men all across the country — we are going to start standing up …. it’s time to stop this madness,” Sharpton said.
“We will never forget the name of Stephon Clark until we get justice,” he added. He encouraged the crowd by chanting, “I am … I am … I am.”
Clark’s wooden, closed casket is positioned front and center at the church and topped with a red and green floral display.
Stephon Clark’s brother, Stevante, took the podium earlier to remember his brother and said, “The Clark family will never die.”
Sharpton eulogized Clark and pledged that Clark’s two children will be cared for.
“This is not a sacramental fight anymore, this is a national fight … we all stand for Stephon Clark,” Sharpton said. “We will make Donald Trump and the whole world deal with police misconduct.”
Sharpton added: “When the cameras are gone, we are with him … This brother could be any one of us”:
Wednesday, around 50 protesters took over the intersection near the Sacramento district attorney’s office as part of a protest organized by the local Black Lives Matter chapter to urge the district attorney to file charges against the officers who shot and killed Clark.
They disrupted midtown rush hour traffic as they marched through the streets. Latavia Ross, pushing her 2-year-old son Jayceon Hurts in a stroller, said she attended the protest because she thinks it’s good for the community to come together to end to gun violence.
Tensions remain high in California’s capital city following the March 18 shooting. Two police officers who were responding to a report of someone breaking car windows fatally shot him in his grandparents’ backyard. Police say they believe Clark was the suspect and he ran when a police helicopter responded, then did not obey officers’ orders.
Police say they thought Clark was holding a gun when he moved toward them, but he was found only with a cellphone.
Many mourners weren’t buying that narrative.
“You always feel threatened — you’re a law enforcement officer, it comes with your job title,” said Rahim Wasi. “That doesn’t give you a right to go running around like Clint Eastwood in a movie.”
Some of Clark’s relatives were more conciliatory.
“We’re not mad at all the law enforcement. We’re not trying to start a riot,” said Shernita Crosby, Stephon Clark’s aunt. “What we want the world to know is that we got to stop this because black lives matter.”
Cousin Suzette Clark said the family wants Stephon Clark remembered as “more than just a hashtag.”
He was outgoing, funny, loving, a good-looking man who liked to dress sharp and the doting father of two young sons.
“He made some mistakes in his life, but he was genuinely a good person,” she said.
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