Black Lives Matter Protesters Demand Sacramento City Manager Resign

Black Lives Matter protesters called for Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan to step down Wednesday after an officer-involved shooting.

The protest, hosted by Black Lives Matter Sacramento, took place outside Chan’s home one day after police officers shot and killed a man at an apartment complex near Sacramento State, according to CBS 13.

The protest event page read:

So lets give you some background. Howard S. Chan has been Sacramento’s city manager since 2017. In Sacramento… HOWARD CHAN IS THE ONLY PERSON THAT CAN FIRE A SAC PD OFFICER! The charter is set up so that City Manager is the only one that can fire a pig. The city manager is an APPOINTED position, not elected… All that power and not even chosen by the people!

“Howard Chan hasn’t fired any of the police officers who have murdered people in Sacramento,” said the group’s leader, Tanya Faison. “We want him to get fired, we want him to step down.”

ABC 10 later identified the man shot by Sacramento Police Department (SACPD) officers as Jeremy Southern.

Following the shooting, the department detailed the incident in a press release:

On Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at approximately 2:15pm, Sacramento Police Department officers were at an apartment complex in the 2900 block of Ramona Avenue conducting follow-up regarding a shooting that occurred on July 15, 2020. While on scene, officers observed a subject matching the description of the suspect from that shooting who had a distinctive visible tattoo.

Officers verbally identified themselves and attempted to contact him. The subject removed a handgun from a satchel and began pointing it at officers. The suspect continued to point the firearm at officers and remained non-compliant with their commands to drop the weapon. One officer discharged their patrol rifle, striking the subject at least once.

“Officers approached the subject and rendered medical aid until personnel from the Sacramento Fire Department arrived. The suspect was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he was later declared deceased,” the release continued.

Despite the protesters’ demands, Chan said in a statement, “Since I became City Manager, I have held all City employees, including those who work for the Sacramento Police Department, accountable for their actions.”

Voters rejected a proposal in 2014 that would have given less power to the city manager to hire or fire and more power to the elected mayor, the CBS 13 report noted.

However, Faison said, “The strong mayor is not a good idea. Our mayor already has too much power. I think that the council and the mayor should all have the power to fire police officers.”