The Latest: Protest over police shooting delays NBA game

The Latest: Protest over police shooting delays NBA game


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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man (all times local):

7:35 p.m.

Protesters decrying this week's fatal shooting of an unarmed black man formed a human chain blocking fans trying to attend a professional basketball game between the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks.

The protest briefly delayed the game Thursday while dozens of police attempted to clear entrances.

There was shouting but no apparent violence as frustrated fans waited outside. The basketball teams began the game nearly a half-hour late in a mostly empty Golden 1 Center.

The protesters earlier marched from Sacramento City Hall and onto a nearby freeway, disrupting rush hour traffic and holding signs with messages like "Sac PD: Stop killing us!"

They are angry over the fatal shooting Sunday of 22-year-old Stephon Clark. Police say they feared he had a handgun, but investigators found only a cellphone.

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4:20 p.m.

Dozens of protesters are crowding the entrance of Sacramento City Hall chanting "black lives matter" and decrying this week's police shooting of an unarmed black man.

Protesters on Thursday carried yellow and black signs reading "Sac PD: Stop killing us!" and "Justice for Stephon 'Zoe' Clark!"

They are angry over the fatal shooting Sunday of 22-year-old Stephon Clark. Police say they feared he had a handgun, but investigators found only a cellphone.

The activists called on Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Police Chief Daniel Hahn to appear to answer questions.

Steinberg earlier said he was horrified by the fatal shooting but won't second-guess the "split-second decisions" of the officers. He's praising Hahn, the city's first black police chief, for quickly releasing videos of the shooting to increase public transparency.

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1:50 p.m.

Independent experts say video and audio recordings of Sacramento police officers fatally shooting a black man who turned out to be unarmed raise more questions than they answer.

Use of force expert Geoffrey Alpert says the officers may have a tough time explaining why they concluded that 22-year-old Stephon Clark had a gun when they were told he had a toolbar.

He also questions why officers turned off the microphones on their body cameras.

Professor of police studies Eugene O'Donnell says that in an ideal world they should not have waited five minutes to help the downed suspect.

But former police officer Peter Moskos says the officers appear to legitimately believe they were in danger.

If so, he and police training expert Ed Obayashi say the shooting was likely legally justified.

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9 a.m.

Community members and activists plan to gather at Sacramento City Hall to protest the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man.

Stephon Clark was killed Sunday by two Sacramento police officers. The department released video footage on Wednesday showing the officers yelling that Clark had a gun before firing. He was holding a cellphone.

Black Lives Matter Sacramento is organizing the rally for Thursday afternoon.

The group says the video shows the police murdered Clark "in cold blood."

The group says it wants to show the city "we are not playing this game with black lives anymore."

Sacramento Mayer Darrell Steinberg says he's not going to second guess the officers decisions but that a full investigation must be completed.

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1 a.m.

Video footage released by Sacramento police shows two officers yelling that a man had a gun before they fatally shot him.

The man, who was black, was unarmed and holding a cellphone in the backyard of his grandparents' home.

The Sacramento Police Department has released two body camera videos, a sheriff's department helicopter video and audio of the 911 call that preceded the Sunday night shooting.

Authorities have not released the man's name. A woman who says she was his fiancee identified him as Stephon Alonzo Clark, 22, the father of her two sons, ages 1 and 3.

The videos never clearly depict what the man was doing in the moments before police fired. The police were responding to a call about someone breaking into vehicles and a neighbor's home.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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