While offering words of praise at the graduation of 60 California Highway Patrol cadets Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked about his reaction to recent protests in Sacramento.
"Understandable," he said, brows furrowing. "I've been in public life over 20 years and we've had difficult times...obviously we're having difficult times here and across the nation...things haven't gone away."
Newsom stood by his Saturday plea, saying that change must happen for the unrest brought on by official decisions to not charge the officers who fatally shot Stephon Clark in 2018 to end.
"I think training, fundamentally, is the most important thing we can do. To change the culture you gotta change training," he said, adding that the issues of mental health, de-escalation and accused implicit bias will be discussed next week when he meets with law enforcement representatives.
RELATED:
Last Saturday, after Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert announced that no charges would be filed against the officers who shot Stephon Clark last March, Gov. Newsom said society must acknowledge what he called the hard truth.
"Our criminal justice system treats young black and Latino men and women differently than their white counterparts," he said. "That must change."
Schubert said the basis of her decision to not charge Officers Mercadal and Robinet was that the use of lethal force on the unarmed 22-year-old was lawful.
After the shooting death of Stephon Clark, the Sacramento Police Department "strengthened our policy related to the use of body-worn cameras and implemented a policy designed to make all parties safer in the event of a foot pursuit."
“It is our responsibility to continually examine all our policies and practices for any opportunity to improve how we police our community. We are committed to that on-going work as a permanent part of who we are as a department," Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn said in a statement.
Following the DA's decision, city officials encouraged residents to participate in conversations and activities surrounding the Stephon Clark investigation decision.
