Skip to content
Help support CapRadio’s local public service mission 
and enrich the lives in your community.
Support local nonprofit public media.
Donate Now

View thank you gift options

CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

‘Sacramento, You Are Now Warned’: Stephon Clark ‘Sit In’ At Arden Fair Prompts Mall Closures, Demonstrators Threaten More Shutdowns

  •  Ezra David Romero 
  •  Nick Miller 
Sunday, March 3, 2019 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Ezra Romero / CapRadio

Youth are gathering outside Arden Fair to peacefully protest the Sacramento County district attorney’s decision not to prosecute the officers who killed Stephon Clark.

Ezra Romero / CapRadio

Updated 3:15 p.m.

Arden Fair Mall did not open its doors on Sunday after a group of demonstrators continued a “sit-in,” protesting the Sacramento County district attorney’s decision not to prosecute the officers who killed Stephon Clark.

Berry Accius, an organizer with Voices of Youth, said Sunday morning that a group of young people began gathering at the mall on Saturday night.

“They closed the mall down because of 13 black students,” Accius said. “The main message, and I'm going to say that very clear: Those two killer officers may no longer reside or work in Sacramento ever again. They need to be fired.”

The group arrived at the mall just before 9 p.m. on Saturday, and remained inside after business hours and over night. On Sunday morning, however, they were told the mall would be closed for the day, and his group finally left to demonstrate outside when law enforcement arrived.

Scenes from Arden Mall. Barry Accius: “these are college students. Today is about stopping economic gain. We didn’t tell them to shut it down. They got scared by 8 black people. Y’all should blame the mall management.” @CapRadioNews pic.twitter.com/W0LiUAXwXn

— Ezra David Romero (@ezraromero) March 3, 2019

Accius hinted at similar demonstrations later this week.

“Sacramento, you are now warned. We might even show up at the Golden 1 arena,” he told CapRadio. “You will see more events like this shutdown.”

Khalil Ferguson, an International Relations and Economics graduate from Sacramento State, said the group left to go outside because it accomplished its mission.

“When the law arrived, we did succumb, only because we did achieve our goals,” Ferguson said.

Mall spokesperson Nathan Spradlin said that Sacramento city officials recommended Arden Fair remain closed. He added that there was “viable information regarding a concentrated effort by protesters to gather in unsafe numbers within the mall.”

“As a part of this community, Arden Fair respected the desires of these individuals to express themselves, but due to the high potential for unsafe numbers to gather today, we have closed the center to groups of any size,” Spradlin wrote in a statement.

During an impromptu press conference in front of the mall’s main entrance on Sunday morning, Ferguson announced a list of demands, including the end to the “dehumanization of black people by public officials.”

The demonstrators also want an official apology to the “unequivocal defamation of Stephon Clark.” The group is demanding that Sacramento County District Attorney Anne-Marie Schubert submit her resignation immediately and that the officers who fatally shot Clark, Jared Robinet and Terrence Mercadal, be fired.

“The goal of today was economic disturbance,” Ferguson explained. “We wanted to inconvenience businesses individually and we got the whole mall shut down.”

Sacramento State student Christine Hunter, with the Coalition of Black Students, helped organize the protest and says she wants the world to know that black people are caring and loving.

“We want [law enforcement] to know that we don’t need to do what they’re doing to us to get justice,” Hunter said.

Youth at Arden Fair Mall protest the Sacramento County district attorney's decision not to charge the officers who shot Stephon Clark.Ezra David Romero / Capital Public Radio

 

Saad Sweilem, a civil rights attorney with CAIR Sacramento Valley, sat with the students throughout the night and gave them legal advice. He says it wasn’t until the morning when they were trespassing and asked to leave.

“There wasn’t any situation that forced me to intervene. I don’t believe they did anything illegal,” Sweilem said.

Hundreds of customers weren’t able to shop at the mall, which has more than 160 stores. Sacramento area interior designer Jimmika Johnson was one of them; she was going to buy some clothes and sunglasses, she said.

“I just have to remember that the way that you send your message is through your money. Sometimes it takes withholding your money to get your point across. I’m going to find some black owned businesses to waste my money on,” Johnson said.

The DA announced on Saturday that the two officers who fatally shot Clark will not face criminal charges. Her office’s decision comes nearly a year after Sacramento police fatally shot Clark, a 22-year-old unarmed black man who died in his grandmother's backyard.

“If a black life matters to you put your fist in the air,” Barry Accius. @CapRadioNews pic.twitter.com/ySGBx8hfnz

— Ezra David Romero (@ezraromero) March 3, 2019

Clark's death prompted weeks of demonstrations, with protesters spilling into the streets of downtown Sacramento. They stopped traffic on Interstate 5 and blocked thousands of fans from entering a Sacramento Kings game.

“Until we shut down Golden 1 [last March], people didn’t really care,” Accius said. “Once you start messing with the fabric of economics to individuals that don’t necessarily have to care . . . [then] you start triggering different emotions. Now [they] want to be at the table to figure out what can I do to be swifter with change.”

On Saturday after the decision, demonstrators also converged on a south Sacramento police station, where they chanted and gave speeches.

When asked if there had been any arrests related to the Stephon Clark demonstrations, a spokesperson with the Sacramento Police Department wrote in response “not that we have been made aware of.”


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    More about Stephon Clark

  • Family courtesy photo via AP

    The Latest: Shooting Of Stephon Clark

    On Sunday, March 18, 2018, Stephon Clark was shot and killed by two Sacramento police officers in the backyard of his grandparents' house in South Sacramento. Check back here for the latest updates, conversations and analysis.

    Related Stories

  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

    Reporters Describe March For Remembrance On Stephon Clark Anniversary

    Tuesday, March 19, 2019
    CapRadio's Ezra David Romero and the Sacramento News & Review's Raheem Hosseini join us to talk about the march last night to honor the one year anniversary of Stephon Clark's death.
  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

    Police Arrest 84 After Stephon Clark Protest In East Sacramento

    Tuesday, March 5, 2019
    Sacramento police arrested 84 people following a march through East Sacramento to protest the Sacramento district attorney's decision not to bring criminal charges against the officers who shot and killed Stephon Clark last March.
  • Ezra Romero / CapRadio

    Sacramento Residents Respond To DA’s Decision In Clark Case

    Monday, March 4, 2019
    Activists, faith leaders and other community members expressed anger and disappointment over DA Schubert’s announcement that her office would not file charges against the two police officers who shot and killed Stephon Clark.
  • Ezra David Romero / Capital Public Radio

    Protests Ignite After 2 Officers Will Not Be Charged In Sacramento Shooting

    Monday, March 4, 2019
    Nearly a year after police fatally shot Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard, the district attorney announced Saturday that the two officers who killed him will not face criminal charges.
  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

    Critics Accuse Sacramento District Attorney Of ‘Character Assassination’ During Announcement In Stephon Clark Case

    Sunday, March 3, 2019
    District Attorney Anne-Marie Schubert publicized personal text messages and internet searches about suicide that were discovered on Stephon Clark’s cell phone. Community members question what this had to do with her review of the case.
  • Bob Moffitt / Capital Public Radio

    Stephon Clark's Mother Reacts To Sacramento DA's No Criminal Charges Decision

    Sunday, March 3, 2019
    The Sacramento District Attorney said Saturday that the two officers who shot Stephon Clark will not be charged. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Clark's mother, Se'Quette Clark, about the decision.

 Stephon Clark

Ezra David Romero

Former Environment Reporter

Ezra David Romero is a former Environment Reporter at CapRadio.  Read Full Bio 

Nick Miller

Managing Editor, News and Information

Nick Miller is an award-winning editor with more than 15 years of newsroom experience. Previously he was editor-in-chief of the East Bay Express in Oakland, and worked as an editor for 12 years at the Sacramento News & Review.  Read Full Bio 

 @NickMiller510 Email Nick Miller

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More Stories

Maddie McGarvey for NPR

Medicaid renewals are starting. Those who don't reenroll could get kicked off

March 21, 2023

Damian Dovarganes/AP

California enters a contract to make its own affordable insulin

March 20, 2023

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

Newsom administration to provide 1,200 tiny homes statewide, including 350 for the Sacramento region

March 16, 2023

Most Viewed

Sacramento guaranteed income program opens applications for second round of participants

California could be the first state in the country to ban some much debated food additives

Wildfire victims left ‘in the dark’ after U.S. Forest Service briefs Congress about the Caldor Fire

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Rain, snow and wind are returning to Northern California. In Sacramento, impacts expected to be milder than recent storms

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

Sacramento guaranteed income program opens applications for second round of participants

California could be the first state in the country to ban some much debated food additives

Wildfire victims left ‘in the dark’ after U.S. Forest Service briefs Congress about the Caldor Fire

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

Rain, snow and wind are returning to Northern California. In Sacramento, impacts expected to be milder than recent storms

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a Tip / Story Idea
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.