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Sacramento Basketball Star Heads up Stephon Clark Rally

by VOA News

   A former professional basketball player led a rally in Sacramento,
   California, Saturday, calling for police accountability in the wake of
   the March 18 police killing of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man.

   Saturday's gathering followed a mostly peaceful march Friday by
   hundreds of demonstrators, hours after an independent autopsy found
   that Clark had been hit in the back by seven of the eight bullets that
   struck him, which contradicted police testimony.

   Security was high for Saturday's demonstration, led by former
   Sacramento Kings player Matt Barnes, and for a Kings basketball game
   scheduled for Saturday evening at the local arena, Golden 1 Center.
   Local media reported the plaza outside the arena would be closed to the
   public Saturday afternoon and protest signs would not be allowed at the
   game, which will pit the Kings against Oakland's Golden State Warriors.

   Dozens of people, including Clark's fiancee, gathered to protest in a
   downtown Sacramento park Saturday afternoon.

   Chavez tributes

   Meanwhile, Saturday was also Cesar Chavez Day, when some states,
   including California, commemorate the Latino activist who founded a
   national farmworkers union. Organizers of Sacramento's Chavez march
   said they also planned to make Clark a focus of their event.

   On Friday, forensic researcher Bennet Omalu, known for his study of
   football-related concussions, announced the result of his independent
   examination, which the Clark family had requested.

   Omalu said all but one of the bullets that hit Clark had come from the
   back or side. The one bullet that seemed to have come from the front
   was found in Clark's left thigh, Omalu said, and likely entered Clark's
   body after he was already lying on the ground.

   Clark was shot dead by two officers responding to a nighttime phone
   call about a man breaking car windows and a glass door. The officers
   fired on Clark, police authorities said, because they thought he had a
   gun. But no gun was found on Clark's body. A cellphone was found
   nearby.

   The result of the independent autopsy was announced a day after about
   500 people had gathered for his funeral. An official report by the
   county coroner is not expected for several more weeks.

   Clark's death on March 18 has sparked days of protest in the California
   capital and rejuvenated the controversy over police shootings of
   unarmed black men.