Mayor Steinberg, Councilmembers issue statement on Monday night's protest

 Mayor and Councilmembers issue statement on last night’s protest

As a result of last night’s protest, which resulted in the arrest of 84 people and multiple complaints received from the public today, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and members of the City Council are requesting an independent investigation of what occurred last evening. The investigation will be led by Francine Tournour, the Director of the Office of Public Safety Accountability (OPSA). Her office works directly for the Mayor and Council, not for the City Manager or for the Sacramento Police Department.

While Chief Daniel Hahn and the department are properly conducting their own inquiry, an independent investigation will help ensure that the public knows exactly what transpired.

“I want to guarantee the right of peaceful protest and freedom of the press while simultaneously protecting public safety,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

Here are some of the questions the Mayor and members of the Council have asked OPSA to address:

·       What precipitated the order to disperse and how was it communicated?

·       What were the circumstances of the arrests?

·       Were people arrested who wanted to leave but were not permitted to leave because of the police perimeter on the bridge?

·       What is the distinction between press and the public during protests?

·       Who was in command of all the agencies working together?

·       Why were people told to go in one direction down 51st street to disperse and then blocked and arrested when they followed orders to move in that direction?

·       What process is in place to revoke or dismiss citations for journalists that were processed?

 The Mayor and members of the Council are asking OPSA Director Tournour to provide answers as quickly as possible.