Two days after Sacramento District Attorney Anne-Marie Schubert announced that her office would not file criminal charges against two Sacramento police officers who shot and killed Stephon Clark, an unarmed 22-year-old black man, demonstrators took to the streets of the California capitol in protest on Monday evening. By the end of the night, police had made a total of 84 arrests.
NPR reported that Monday night's protests differ from previous demonstrations, in two different, but perhaps related, ways. In the past, police have kept arrest numbers low — for instance, last year following Clark's shooting, only a handful of protesters were arrested for shutting down Interstate 5 and blocking people from driving to the Sacramento Kings game. But that took place downtown. Monday night's protest "was the first to take place in a wealthier, predominantly white part of the city," writes NPR.
Among those detained were Pastor Les Simmons, a "prominent figure" in the Clark saga per NPR, and a reporter for The Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg tweeted that he was "disappointed" by the way the protest ended, but only specifically mentioned that "no member of the press should be detained for doing their job." The mayor said he is withholding further comment until he receives answers to "critical questions" about the night's events.