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Sacramento mayors comments draw ire from police officers
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SACRAMENTO (AP) — Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has drawn criticism from members of his city’s police force for comments he made following a grand jury’s decision not to indict a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer.

On Monday night, Johnson described the grand jury’s decision not to bring charges against Officer Darren Wilson in Michael Brown’s shooting death as an “injustice,” the Sacramento Bee reported. The announcement in Missouri stemming from the black 18-year-old’s death by a white police officer has ignited racial tension.

Speaking in a community forum, Johnson also said the grand jury’s decision marked a “sad day for America,” adding that it “just doesn’t feel right.”

Dustin Smith, head of the Sacramento Police Officers Association, said the mayor’s statement amounted to a “slap in the face” for law enforcement throughout the nation. He said Johnson shouldn’t be disappointed but rather relieved that the grand jury did not find that Wilson “acted in a heinous fashion.”

Smith and Johnson met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss the statement. Both men emerged saying they had cleared the air.

Johnson said he stood by his earlier comments, but he clarified that he did not intend to include police elsewhere in his comments on Ferguson, especially not those in Sacramento.