SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – The family of Stephon Clark joined hundreds at a rally Saturday, urging California’s capital city not to let his memory or calls for police reform fade nearly two weeks after the 22-year-old unarmed black man was killed by Sacramento officers.
Clark’s fiance, Salena Manni, stood on stage with his two young sons, grandmother and uncle for the gathering organized by Sacramento native and former NBA player Matt Barnes, who pledged to create a scholarship fund for the children of black men killed by police.
“All he wanted to do was go see his sons again, and unfortunately he can’t,” Curtis Gordon, Clark’s uncle, said as he recalled seeing his nephew hours before the shooting. “So remember that – while we mourn, while we shout, while we cry – because it ain’t just our pain, it’s their pain.”
Barnes amplified calls for charges against the two officers who are on administrative leave.
“It’s more than color – it comes down to right and wrong,” he said. “You’re trying to tell me I can kill someone and get a paid vacation?”