SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ During another day of protests Saturday, there was a growing call for police reforms beyond the outcome of the investigation into the killing of an unarmed African-American man by Sacramento officers last month.
The shooting of Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard has sparked a national outcry, which was heightened when an independent autopsy performed on behalf of his family determined that officers shot him from behind six times.
Clark's death March 18 has heightened long-standing tensions between Sacramento police and the city's black community. In Clark's neighborhood, some residents said they are afraid of the police.
On Saturday, activists called for a new approach from the police in how they patrol minority neighborhoods and how they use force.
Derrell Roberts, an activist who runs a youth mentoring program in south Sacramento, said many in his neighborhood believe that authorities "over-police our neighborhood, thus causing confrontations that lead to the death of a young black man in this case, or in the case of Joseph Mann," an African-American homeless man whom Sacramento police shot to death in 2016.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg issued a statement urging the community to work together through nonviolent civil action "as we pursue justice and demand reform."
"We have an obligation to everyone involved, including the family of Clark, to wait for the full findings and results from the official autopsy and investigation," Steinberg said. "As the mayor of our city, I assure the community and the public that we will aggressively seek answers to all of the questions the community is rightfully asking."
Just as important, the mayor said, "we will aggressively seek appropriate change to the protocols and training that led to this unacceptable outcome."
In an interview in March, Steinberg said the department should consider increasing its use of less-than-lethal weapons. He said Clark's death, though still under investigation, "was wrong" and points to the need for not only more administrative change, but also a reckoning with racism itself.
"Our kids and men don't feel safe," Steinberg said. "There is no danger if we do the right thing, if we push aggressively to change what must be changed."
Betty Williams, president of the Sacramento branch of the NAACP, said Saturday that her organization wants legislation that would require the state attorney general's office to provide oversight or conduct its own investigation of such police shootings. The attorney general announced that his office would participate in the Clark investigation, though the decision on whether to criminally charge the officers would still be made by the Sacramento district attorney.
In addition, Williams said, the organization wants new protocols for muting police audio recordings. Authorities quickly released officer and helicopter videos of the Clark incident. But in one video, a sergeant arrives on the scene and is heard telling officers to mute their audio after the shooting.
"If you're looking for accountability and full transparency, keep it on the entire time," Williams said. "Even if you're discussing your children's birthday party. It doesn't matter. Leave it on."
Clark was shot as police were looking for a vandal in the neighborhood.
A Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helicopter spotted a man in a backyard and directed police toward him, authorities said. Deputies told officers that the man had picked up a "toolbar" and broken the window of a home.
The man was seen running south, toward the front of the house, where he stopped and looked into another car, police said. Police body camera footage shows that officers intercepted Clark in the backyard of his grandmother's house, and one of them yelled, "Gun!" as he turned a corner and saw Clark. The officer ducked back momentarily, then looked around the corner again and, shouting "Gun! Gun! Gun!" began firing rapidly. His partner then joined in the shooting.
The officers told other police who arrived on the scene that they thought Clark was pointing something at them. "It looked like a gun from our perspective," one said.
The object found when they rolled over Clark's bleeding body was a white cellphone.
Clark was pronounced dead at the scene. Police video shows that several minutes passed until officers approached Clark's body. They then handcuffed him before appearing to attempt resuscitation.
Dr. Bennet Omalu conducted an autopsy on behalf of the family. He told said Friday that his examination showed that Clark was hit by eight bullets, and all but one entered while his back was turned toward the two officers who fired at him.
One bullet entered Clark's left thigh from the front and was probably fired while he was on the ground and had already been shot multiple times, Omalu said. The county coroner's official autopsy results are not expected for several weeks.
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(Elmahrek reported from Los Angeles.)
