Outcry

Protesters Cut Off NBA Game Over Sacramento Police Killing of Unarmed Black Man

Blocked entrance to Kings game, Interstate-5 to protest death of unarmed Stephon Clark, who was killed by 20 shots in his grandmother’s backyard.

Protests erupted in Sacramento late Thursday night, four days after police shot and killed an unarmed black man in his grandmother’s backyard. Stephon Clark, 22, was shot Sunday—police later said they believed he was armed but investigators only found a cellphone on his body. On Thursday night, protesters chanting “black lives matter” blocked the entrance to a scheduled NBA game where the Sacramento Kings defeated the Atlanta Hawks in a nearly empty arena. Outside the arena, protesters linked arms, blocked fans from entering the building, and chanted: “Join us or go home!” to those trying to get inside. After the game, Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé addressed the fans that managed to get inside and expressed the team’s sympathy for Clark’s family. “We recognize that it’s not just business as usual, and we are going to work really hard to bring everybody together to make the world a better place, starting with our own community, and we’re going to work really hard to prevent this kind of a tragedy from happening again,” said Ranadivé. Marchers started at city hall, chanting “Don’t shoot. It’s a cellphone!” and then shut down Interstate 5 during rush hour. Officials reported no arrests and little violence.