Stevante Clark, whose younger brother Stephon Clark was gunned down by Sacramento police last year, is being appointed to a newly created advisory committee.
Stevante Clark will be appointed to serve on Sacramento’s Measure U Community Advisory Committee, which was established in October.
Stevante Clark, brother of Stephon Clark, disrupts a special City Council meeting at Sacramento City Hall on March 27, 2018, in Sacramento, California. Hundreds packed a special City Council meeting at Sacramento City Hall to address concerns over the shooting death of Stephon Clark by Sacramento police. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Council member Larry Carr told Capital Public Radio Tuesday about his plans to put Stevante on the 15-member board.
“It is bold. And I would expect that it would draw some controversy,” Carr said Feb. 12 of his plans to nominate Stevante Clark. The newly announced 2020 mayoral race contender drew criticism last year when he cursed out Mayor Darrell Steinberg at a Council meeting, yelled at press who were present at his brother’s funeral, and forced CNN’s Don Lemon to pull the plug on an interview after the guest got upset.
Following those incidents, which a woman who identified herself as his aunt at a rally last year said were brought on by post-traumatic stress disorder, Stevante Clark voluntarily sought treatment at the University of California-Davis Medical Center.
Additionally, he visits Sacramento County’s mental health court. If he graduates, it will allow him to bypass a criminal record stemming from the City Council meeting incident in April.
Carr said Stevante Clark has since “righted himself” since those incidents, noting they’ve collaborated on events in Carr’s district and saying Stevante Clark will be a wise representative for the young inhabitants of South Sacramento.
“He’s been coming to every community meeting that I’ve had,” Carr said and added the nominee has made apologies “to people at City Hall that he offended.”
“Stevante is a solid citizen, I will tell you that,” Carr added.
The 25-year-old would join Measure U, a council that is in charge of reviewing and overseeing how the city spends its sales tax increase. It could lead to $100 million in revenue each year for Sacramento.
Steinberg said Clark “will play an important role” on the committee.
“It is remarkable that this young man, who has been through so much, has emerged from crisis as a leader in his family and dedicated himself to positive change in the community,” Steinberg said in a statement.
Stephon Clark was unarmed when he was shot and killed by law enforcement in March 2018 when he was in his family’s backyard. In January, the 22-year-old victim’s family filed a $20 million wrongful death suit against the city of Sacramento and the officers who fired upon him 20 times and struck him seven times.
