Protesters Voice Anger Over Stockton Police Shootings

STOCKTON (CBS13) - It was certainly not business as usual at Stockton City Hall on Tuesday. There was real concern things might turn violent, but the anger was exhibited with words.

"My son got holes in his head the size of golf balls and you sit up here, as a mayor as a grandma, as a mother and let this happen to these people," Dionne Smith-Downs said in addressing Mayor Ann Johnson at the City Council meeting.

The emotional testimony was directed at Stockton's mayor and City Council from the families of two unarmed black men killed by police - one Friday and another in 2010.

"When I went to go see my brother, you know what I seen? Bullet holes here, here and here," said Donna Brown, whose brother Luther Brown was killed in a police altercation on Friday.

"This is my heart and soul. I was born in Stockton. I'm tired of seeing kids get killed here, I'm tired of seeing all the violence," one man said at the meeting.

Outrage was also expressed about the extra security in place inside City Hall for the planned protest.

"We are in a public meeting in a public building and we're greeted like we're back in the '60s," said Cynthia Boyd.

The security inside came after police dressed in riot gear responded outside City Hall as protesters gathered across the street at Martin Luther King Plaza to protest what they say has been excessive force by police.

"They got tasers, they got mace, why don't they try to do something else before they just try to kill?" protester Edward Smith asked.

Occupy Oakland bussed in protestors as a sign of solidarity with the Stockton group.

The event was spurred by the officer-involved shooting death of Luther Brown Friday.

In a press release sent out Tuesday night, Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said Brown ran from officers after a traffic stop and that police found drugs in the vehicle he was in. He was unarmed, but police say they fired on him when he tried to assault an officer with the officer's own baton during a struggle. His partner fatally shot Brown.

It's a narrative Brown's family still calls unjustified.

"And I'm upset, and I want something done," his sister said.

CBS13 asked Mayor Johnson Police Chief Jones for a response to Tuesday's protest and testimony but they both declined to comment.

A number of streets surrounding City Hall were shut down with barricades and the protesters caused traffic congestion as they moved through downtown to the plaza.

One person was arrested after she sat in the roadway and refused to leave.

Check back at cbssacramento.com throughout the night for more updates on this story.