SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Police on Thursday arrested the brother of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by Sacramento officers last month, on suspicion of felony assault and vandalism, authorities said Thursday.
Stevante Clark, 25, also is accused of making criminal threats and abusing a 911 emergency line.
Police did not provide further details, citing an ongoing investigation.
Stevante Clark disrupted an emotional City Council meeting following the shooting of his 22-year-old brother. He later apologized to Mayor Darrell Steinberg for the disruption.
At another council meeting, he led the audience in chanting Stephon Clark’s name.
“My heart is gone,” Stevante Clark said at one council meeting.
Clark family members and their lawyer, Benjamin Crump, did not respond to requests for comment.
Stevante Clark has been open about his mental struggles since his brother’s death. He told the Sacramento Bee that he spent two days in an inpatient mental health treatment center after his behavior prompted a disturbance call to police.
“I needed to be away from the fake love,” Clark told the newspaper . “The hospital helped me because they understand I am normal. … I am not a celebrity. Now I’m scared.”
Two Sacramento officers were responding to a call about someone breaking into cars when they shot and killed Stephon Clark in his grandparents’ backyard. They believed he was carrying a gun but investigators found only a cellphone.
His death touched off tense protests in California’s capital city that shut down freeways and blocked access to Sacramento Kings basketball games.
Demonstrators have camped outside the office of District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert demanding the officers be charged. She has said it may take more than a year for prosecutors to make that decision.
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