NOEL KING, HOST:
Protests have erupted around Sacramento, Calif., after video was released showing the killing of 22-year-old Stephon Clark.
(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) It's a phone, not a gun. It's a phone, not a gun. It's a phone, not a gun.
KING: Those protesters are chanting, it's a phone, not a gun. That was captured by a reporter with Capitol Public Radio. Sacramento police say that on Sunday night, officers confronted Clark in his grandmother's backyard. They mistook his cellphone for a gun, and they fired about 20 shots, killing him. Frances Wang has been covering all of this. She's a reporter with ABC10. Frances, thanks for joining us.
FRANCES WANG: Thank you for having me.
KING: How did this shooting unfold? What happened?
WANG: Well, everything started Sunday night. As you mentioned, this man, Stephon Clark, was shot 20 times by two police officers. He was actually in his grandmother's backyard where he is currently living. So a neighbor basically reported to 911 that someone was breaking car windows in the area, and police believed that Clark was the suspect, although they still haven't officially confirmed that. And he did run through a backyard, as we later saw in the footage, to his grandmother's home. And then that's where the shooting unfolded. They first said they thought he had a gun. Then they later corrected it to a toolbar. Eventually, they were only able to find him with a cellphone, which is another reason people are so upset.
KING: People are upset. And it seems they are even more upset after footage of the shooting was released yesterday. What happened after that footage came out?
WANG: So a lot of people watched it and felt it showed that he was completely innocent. Some people felt the other way. If you watch the footage, you'll see it is very dark, very fast and very hard to see.
KING: Hard to see.
WANG: But after that, local groups like Black Lives Matter, as well as other nonprofit organizations, organized a protest and rally today - or last night rather at city hall that was supposed to just be a protest rally, but it quickly turned into a march, shutting down the freeway and eventually making its way to the Golden 1 Center, where it actually delayed the Kings game and prevented most of the fans from being able to get inside. The owner of the Kings actually made a statement after the game. Here's what he said.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VIVEK RANADIVE: What happened was absolutely horrific, and we are so very sorry for your loss.
KING: That's the Kings' owner, Vivek Ranadive, speaking to a pretty empty arena there - right? - because fans were blocked from getting in. How many people were out in the streets yesterday?
WANG: So when we got on the freeway is when I saw the most. I would say at least 300. Now, the crowds were all throughout the downtown Sacramento area and very kind of spread out. But eventually, everyone made their way to the Golden Center - Golden 1 Center. And I would say about 300 or more. Again, it was very fluid and quick, and it's hard to get an accurate count, but there were a lot of people.
KING: What, quickly, is the relationship like between the Sacramento Police Department and citizens there? Is there a lot of mistrust?
WANG: Especially amongst the black community, I would say so. There was an officer-involved shooting with another black man in 2016, Joseph Mann, and that caused a lot of outcry as well and caused a lot of change. We actually just implemented our first African-American police officer, and a lot of people were very excited about that, thinking it would bring about the change they were calling for and this has been a challenge.
KING: Sorry, the first African-American police officer on the Sacramento force.
WANG: Chief, chief.
KING: Police chief, OK, OK.
WANG: Yes.
KING: Just wanted to clarify. It's been more than four days since this happened. What do we still not know - briefly?
WANG: Oh, there is a lot, but I think the biggest thing everyone wants to know is was this considered excessive force? And, two, was he the suspect that police were originally looking for, the one they believed he - was breaking in car windows? And even if he was, a lot of people feel that what happened was still not justified.
KING: Frances Wang is a reporter with ABC10 in Sacramento. Frances, thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.