McClatchy students joined in a passing protest against the District Attorney’s decision to not charge the police officers responsible for the shooting of Stephon Clark last year. The Thursday afternoon protest was largely made up of Sacramento City College (S.C.C.) students after they walked out of classes earlier that afternoon.
The protest induced a large police presence that included six unmarked vehicles, two officers on motorcycle, and at least 15 officers on bicycles.
The demonstration that made its way past McClatchy stopped briefly at the front doors of the school, where protestors chanted, “Why are we here? Stephon Clark.” and “Join us!” Some protestors were seen knocking and banging on the doors. The student and staff parking lots were locked. Some reported that more than 50 students walked out of the school to join the protests.
McClatchy’s Principal, Peter Lambert, said on the protest, “Students have a passion. I think students should always be concerned about issues going on within our city and our society, so they definitely should be involved and concerned.” He added, “They have a right.”
Said a spokesperson for Sacramento City School District (S.C.U.S.D.) in a statement to the Sacramento Bee, “We want to encourage students if they want to exercise First Amendment rights that they do so on campus. We have a responsibility to keep them safe when they’re on school grounds. We take that responsibility very seriously.”
Students expressed frustration over the events of the past week. One McClatchy sophomore who walked out to join the protest said, “I think it’s really important to protest these injustices.”
Chrysanthe Vidal, a McClatchy alum, who now attends S.C.C. said, “I’ve been hurting all weekend. I finally started listening to the news on Monday and I was disappointed and mad and this is a good outlet, I think that this will help.”
The peaceful demonstration was in response not only to the DA’s decision but to the arrest of 84 protestors on Monday night, including two journalists.
The protest made its way to Sacramento Charter High School, where they chanted “Come on out!” The protest also marched through Oak Park where chants of “Gentrifiers come through” were heard. The protest then headed to the state Capitol building.
One protestor, speaking to the crowd with a megaphone, who identified herself as a Rosemont High School student said, “I was very sick this last week when I found out the news about what happened, about Stephon Clark, about the whole case…it brought tears to my eyes so it also really makes me happy to see everybody come out here today, so please make sure that you’re tapping in to one another.”
As the march reached the Capitol, it had swollen to, by some estimates, over 300 people, most of which were students in the S.C.U.S.D. and Los Rios districts.
After nearly four hours of marching, the group reached the Capitol, and leaders took turn with the megaphone, speaking about their cause. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty also spoke to the group, telling the students and demonstrators that “this is your Capitol.” McCarty is a co-author of AB 392, a bill that would change the standard for deadly force used by an officer from “reasonable” to “necessary.”