SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A 61-year-old woman was struck by a police vehicle as it drove away from protesters demonstrating against the police killing of Stephon Clark in what was described by the victim and protesters as a hit and run.
The Sacramento Bee and The State Hornet newspapers identified the activist as Wanda Cleveland. The Bee described Cleveland as a regular attendee at City Council meetings. It said she was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and released early Sunday.
"He never even stopped," the newspaper quoted Cleveland as saying. "It was a hit-and-run. If I did that I'd be charged."
But videos posted on Twitter show sheriff's vehicles, surrounded by crowds protesting the shooting death last month of Clark, moving slowly through the crowd as someone urges repeatedly on a megaphone, "Back away from my vehicle."
As the first car creeps forward, a second appears to follow quickly in its wake, striking someone who falls to the ground. A video from ABC10 News in Sacramento showed the impact.
The California Highway Patrol said a pedestrian "who may have been a protester" was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
A spokesman for the patrol's South Sacramento office, officer Michael Bradley, said it was investigating a collision that occurred about 9:30 p.m. outside the city limits near the corner of Florin Road and 65th Street. No further details were released.
Marchers had taken to the street on Saturday night, part of days-long protests in the wake of the killing of Clark, 22, an unarmed black man shot to death by police on March 18 in Sacramento. Demonstrations have been particularly tense since Thursday, when an independent autopsy report concluded Clark was struck eight times, mostly in the back. The incident was recorded on police body cameras.
Before the accident, Cleveland recounted how she felt she was unjustly arrested three years ago, accused of touching a police officer during a tense meeting.
"I'm on a mission now. I will never allow a cop to touch me again," she said before the accident.
"I want to know what he was thinking," Cleveland said from her hospital bed in the emergency room. "Is my life not that important?"
Cleveland suffered minor injuries, to her head and elbow.
"This was a hit and run," Andre Young said after witnessing the incident. "Police have to be better than this."
In a statement, the Sacramento County sheriff's office said the collision occurred at "slow speeds" after protesters were "yelling while pounding and kicking the vehicles' exterior." The vehicle sustained scratches, dents and a shattered rear window that was caused by vandals and was unrelated to the collision, according to Sgt. Shaun Hampton.
The incident is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol while the department conducts an internal review, Hampton added. It was not immediately clear whether any disciplinary measures would be taken.
The night's protests began as a quiet vigil for Clark, but the hit-and-run changed the tenor. More than 200 protesters marched on 65th street, shutting down the streets. Many joined the march after learning of the incident on social media.
Protesters made their way to the Sacramento County sheriff's office, and were met with 15 squad cars blocking the department. Police were in riot gear, facing the chanting protesters who kept a distance from them in the parking lot.
Protesters refused to disperse, and continued to block the main intersection. Officers made two lines, preventing protesters from continuing the march. Some organizers called for protesters to disperse and go home. But an offshoot of the group remained, making their way to face the officers.
"We need to continue to let our voices be heard!" said Maurice Conner, a teacher from John F. Kennedy High School in Sacramento, whose remarks were punctuated by the horn-beeps of impatient motorists. "Let them know that Stephon Clark, Mike Brown, Aiyana Jones, Tamir Rice ... Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant -- how many more names do we gotta name? Sandra Bland. All of these names that were named are also people that have been disenfranchised in every aspect of society."
Also speaking was Marissa Barrera, whose family sued the city of Woodland after her 30-year-old brother, Michael Barrera, died in police custody last year.
"My heart goes out to Stephon's family because nobody can ever understand -- you guys can feel our pain, but you will never know until it happens," she said. "And I pray to God it will never happen to you guys."
Information for this article was contributed by Alex Horton, Rob Kuznia and Sawsan Morrar of The Washington Post and Kayne Rogers and Matt Stevens of The New York Times.
A Section on 04/02/2018