On Monday, award winning Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones took to the media after the murder of Deputy Mark Stasyuk advising those that were upset about the death should go counter protest a gathering for Stephon Clark who was murdered March of this year.
Deputy Stasyuk was shot and killed after responding to a 911 call where his partner and a bystander were also shot.
According to Blue Lives Matter:
> “We have a planned protest tomorrow at a statewide law enforcement conference down in Sacramento,” Sheriff Jones said. “I know that people have this overwhelming urge to do what they can, and not knowing what to do, one of the things you can do is go down there.” “Go down to the convention center tomorrow between 11 and 1 and show your support for law enforcement while they continue to protest law enforcement,” the sheriff said.
The Black Lives Matter protest was already planned prior to the death of Deputy Stasyuk as the protest was lined up with the 6-month anniversary of Stephon Clark death.
Black Lives Matter protesters shut down J Street in front of the Sacramento Convention Center and blocked traffic. The protest lasted for hours.
Sheriff’s Jones message about showing up to counter protest was heard by many and brought violent counter protesters.
A law enforcement support was caught on camera pushing a protester.
Unlike other protests that got violent, this one did have officers that were there trying to keep the peace.
Captain Norm Leong of the Sacramento Police Department kept the divided sides as separated as possible, according to Sacramento Bee.
Once divided, you had one side carrying American flags and the infamous “Make America Great Again” hats while the other had Black Lives Matter, clergy, and a mixture of all races supporting the gathering.
According to Sacramento Bee:
> ““Emotions were high for many reasons and the last thing we wanted was for this to get out of hand,” said Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn.”
In June of 2017, Sheriff Jones won the Patriot Award for supporting Tech. Sgt. Elisha Johnson, U.S. Air Force Reserve. The Patriot Award was created by Employer Support of the Guard Reserve to recognize individuals who provide patriotic support and cooperation to their employees.
According to Employer Support of the Guard Reserve:
> “Supportive employers, like Sheriff Scott Jones and Undersheriff Erik Maness are vital to the success of our mission and the defense of this nation,” said James Combs, California ESGR state chair. “Our Guard and Reserve members could not perform their military duty without knowing their civilian employer supports them 100 percent.”
Below is video footage of the sheriff calling for action and a counter protest.