‘Opposite of what brings social change’: Steinberg blasts Sacramento looters
Police Chief says some intent on hurting officers
Police Chief says some intent on hurting officers
Police Chief says some intent on hurting officers
The clean-up of broken glass began early this morning, led by more than a dozen Good Samaritans. One of them was Carl Watson.
“Born and raised in Sacramento,” he said. “Take care of your city, that's it.”
And there is a lot to repair after a night of violence and destruction, with vandals breaking into multiple businesses, including Sharif Jewelers on 10th Street.
“This is not a protest anymore,” said William Sin, who walked by Sharif Jewelers on Sunday morning. “As soon as they like, rob, loot or anything like that, it's a riot.”
Elsewhere, thousands of dollars worth of new shoes and clothing from the nearby Kicx store was also stolen.
“A couple of hundred people came here and looted us,” said Elvin Reyes, co-owner of Kicx. “Broke into our place took whatever they could."
Reyes said all his inventory is gone.
“They wiped us out,” he said.
Also hit overnight was the downtown Macy’s store – that had been set to reopen June 1 after the coronavirus outbreak. It is now looted with smashed display cases and merchandise stolen.
“What happened last night is not only unacceptable it is the exact opposite of what brings social change,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
But the mayor got an earful today from community activists who told him the city council lacks compassion for people who are hurting.
“There's clearly a disconnect between the city council and the people that are in the community on the ground, dealing with this whether it's inner city violence of police violence,” Conrad Crump told Steinberg.
And there was anger from others in the community who demanded answers from the mayor about the destruction of small businesses.
“Where were the cops?” one woman challenged the mayor. “At the Capitol,” she said. “Where were they protecting our businesses, our communities, where were you?"
But Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn told KCRA 3 that stopping looting in the middle of a riot is tough work, especially when police are confronted by professional agitators armed with rocks and bricks.
“In this case these protesters are intent on injuring officers and in some cities have killed officers,” Hahn told KCRA 3. “So you can't just send three officers - and they are constantly moving and in different groups so you have to be able to send a large contingent of officers both as a protecting detail if you will, but also arrest teams.”
Hahn told KCRA 3 that 18 people were arrested overnight on Saturday and one person on Friday night. Most of those arrested he said were from the Sacramento region, with a few from out of the area, including one person from Washington state.
Steinberg told businesses he was sorry about the destruction that occurred. He said it was like a hurricane hit, and that’s one reason why the city council went into an emergency session on Sunday – to come up with a plan to make sure violence like this never happens again.
"As bad as this is, and it is bad, I think it is also important to point out that no buildings were burned down,” Steinberg said.
“It appears nobody was seriously hurt and that compared to a lot of other parts of the country - because we are not alone here - we have a lot of work to do to clean up and a lot of help to provide to our businesses,” Steinberg added.
Chief Hahn told KCRA 3 that several police officers were injured by rocks, bricks and other debris thrown by violent crowds.