‘Die-in’ planned in Sacramento mayor’s neighborhood, followed by Saturday march downtown

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Protests over police brutality and racial injustice following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd have continued for about a week in Sacramento, with more organized demonstrations planned for Friday and the weekend.

The Sacramento chapter of Black Lives Matter is leading a Friday evening “sit/die-in” in the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood, urging demonstrators to sit or lie down in the intersection of Greenhaven Drive and Greenstar Way for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

That length of time, the event description on Facebook says, is how long Floyd was “pinned down by his neck” by a Minneapolis police officer, as bystander video that has sparked nationwide outrage and nearly two weeks of mass protests showed.

The die-in is set to start at 6 p.m., and more than 1,500 people have said they’re attending, according to the Facebook page. Black Lives Matter has asked those attending to recognize Floyd as well as other black men and women who have been killed by law enforcement in recent years, including Stephon Clark and Breonna Taylor. Friday marks the birthday of Taylor, a 26-year-old woman who was fatally shot by police in Louisville, Ky., in March during a no-knock search warrant in her apartment.

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Jae’ Montgomery, of the local Anti Police-Terror Project Sacramento chapter, says the group will hold a celebration of life for Taylor, marching starting at 5 p.m. from Cesar E. Chavez Plaza to the Capitol to Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, where they will hold a vigil and release balloons.

While many of the demonstrations that have taken place in the last week have been centered downtown, Friday evening’s event is taking place near the neighborhood where Mayor Darrell Steinberg resides, with its description noting the die-in will take place near “the home of one of our elected officials.”

The event description condemns the citywide 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew that Steinberg and the city council put in place Monday, as well as the decision to deploy National Guard troops.

“It’s interesting that our Democratic Mayor and our Conservative Sheriff (Scott Jones) are on the same page on the same day committing to the same kind of response to the peoples REACTION to the violence that our LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ELECTED OFFICIALS keep bringing us,” the event description reads.

Back in downtown on Saturday, a major march is planned to begin at 10 a.m. starting at Golden 1 Center, organized by the Greater Sacramento area NAACP, CLIMB and several other organizations. Invited guests and speakers include NAACP President Derrick Johnson, current Kings player Harrison Barnes and former King Matt Barnes, filmmaker Deon Taylor and more.

Harrison Barnes in an Instagram post on Wednesday shared a poster for the march and urged Sacramentans to show up.

Sacramento Regional Transit is adding more light rail cars and operating its 15-minute service earlier on the Blue Line, starting at 7 a.m. Saturday, for additional riders heading downtown to the planned peaceful protest.

Last weekend, peaceful daytime protest demonstrations in downtown Sacramento were overshadowed by vandalism, property damage and theft, which the Downtown Sacramento Partnership estimated caused $10 million in damage and which Sacramento police say resulted in dozens of arrests.

A curfew and deployment of 500 National Guard troops were announced by city leaders Monday morning. Demonstrations of several hundred people have proceeded peacefully each night this week, with no major vandalism or property damage incidents reported.

Up to 2,000 hold ‘die-in,’ others march in downtown Sacramento in 8th night of protests

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Karl Chan reported city police arrested 48 people for violating curfew Monday night, 20 on Tuesday, none Wednesday and four Thursday. Law enforcement let the peaceful gatherings continue for about an hour after the 8 p.m. curfew each night, then arrested stragglers after the main crowds dispersed.

Steinberg announced Wednesday the curfew would remain in place through this coming weekend, and that National Guard troops would stay stationed in the capital city for a few more days.

The American Civil Liberties Union in a letter Thursday to the Sacramento City Council called the nightly curfew unconstitutional, and demanded the city lift the order within 24 hours.

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