'Why did it have to happen?' Community demands answers in Sacramento police shooting

A Sacramento, Calif., pastor who has been helping the family of Stephon Clark says everyone in the community has been working together to fight for justice in the young black man's death at the hands of police officers.

Clark, 22, was unarmed when he shot to death by Sacramento police in his grandmother's backyard on March 18. 

Video of the nighttime incident released by police shows a man later identified as Clark running into the backyard where police fired 20 rounds at him after screaming "gun, gun, gun."

It turned out Clark was holding a cellphone. 

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Family and friends attended Clark's funeral on Thursday and more protests are planned in the days ahead.

Sacramento pastor Les Simmons spoke with As It Happens host Carol Off about how the family and the community are coping amid tragedy and international spotlight.

Here is part of that conversation. 

What is going through your mind today as you prepare for Stephon Clark's funeral?

The first thing that's really going through is how hard this has been and will be for the Clark family —  for his two kids. his fiancée, his brother and sister, his mom, his grandmother — entire family.

Then secondly, for friends and close relatives. In our culture, you know, our friends that we grew up with quickly become cousins. And then older folks quickly become uncles.

So my heart is really in a place of hurt for the family and the community as a whole.

This family, I know you have spent time with them. You're trying to help them through this. How are they coping?

The family is doing the best that they can, especially the ones that were at the house during the time of the shooting. As you can imagine, this has been deeply traumatizing for them to process and go through.

Ms. Thompson, going her going back to her house where her grandson was murdered and brutally shot, leaving him dead and her having to see the image of that. 

You can imagine for Stevante, Stephon's brother, he's in a place of trauma, but resilience as well.

As you can imagine for all of the family, it's been a difficult, difficult time to really go through this week and mourning the loss of a loved one.

I was thinking about how difficult it is, first of all, to lose someone in your family, a close person, a young man and to be dealing with that trauma. But at the same time, to be doing it on such a public stage, being watched and reported on and covered and surrounded by international attention. How difficult is that been for the family to deal with?

That definitely has been a difficult process, while at the same time it raises awareness of just the space that we are in in this moment.

While the national media is here, it is helping to point out the challenges that we're facing and the need for reform, the need for justice, and the need for change.

Many people have seen the police body cam video that shows at least part of what happened and the police arriving in the backyard. ... The family has seen that. You were with them when the family watched it. That must be very difficult for them.

It was a very, very tough moment, but they chose to lean in. And those that didn't, you know, bless their heart as well.

It was such a fragile space to watch a loved one brutally killed with 20 rounds being fired. But now the world sees it as a result of that footage being released.

What questions does the family still have about what happened?

I think the world has the same questions as a family has.

First off, why did it have to happen? ... These officers were equipped with less lethal forms of weapons.

Why did it have to happen to a person in his own backyard?

Why did they have to use such lethal force?

Why did they mute their mics?

Why couldn't Stephon Clark being given the opportunity to live through interaction with law enforcement?

It was as if he was seen doing something that is still in question, he was judged, he was sentenced, and he was executed. The community is asking why.

And they're asking: What are you going to do to stop this from happening? 

What restitution is going to be given to the family? How are we going to create healing for the family?

And then how are we going to hold the officers accountable for their actions?

Written by Sheena Goodyear. Interview produced by Katie Geleff.