A group of elected young African-Americans are pushing back against the Trump administration’s inaction in the wake of police shootings of unarmed Black men. Pointing to the Sacramento police killing of Stephon Clark, they are demanding accountability.
See Also: Stephon Clark Autopsy Shows Police Shot Him In The Back
The National Black Caucus of the Young Elected Officials Network published an open letter on Thursday addressed to the president and state officials demanding action “on police violence against Black communities.”
This comes, in part, as a response to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ announcement at a March 28 press conference that there will be no federal involvement in the Sacramento shooting. It’s a matter for local authorities, she added.
“This thoughtless response from the highest office in our country comes at a time when a growing movement, led by communities of color and a new wave of young people, is seeking an end to all gun violence,” the letter stated, referring also to the gun control movement led by high school students after the Parkland school shooting in February.
Clark, 22, was unarmed when two officers gunned him down in a hail of at least 20 shots in his grandmother’s backyard on March 18. The officers, who were responding to reports of someone breaking car windows, claimed that they believed Clark had a gun, which turned out to be a cellphone.
An independent autopsy revealed that the cops landed at least six of eight bullets in Clark’s back, which suggests the killing may not have happened as cops initially said.
The letter listed several demands, including calls for all police departments “to reflect the diversity of the community they serve” and for local prosecutors to create civil rights units “dedicated to investigating and prosecuting police misconduct fairly, transparently, and independently.”
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Young Black Elected Officials Demand Accountability For Shootings Of Unarmed Black Men was originally published on newsone.com
