East Sacramento residents are talking about safety with city officials
Dozens gathered Monday night at the East Sacramento Tennis Club, where 70-year-old Charles Starzynski was shot and killed last Thursday, to ask questions of elected leaders and public officials. A meeting at the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club touched on a number of public safety issues Starzynski was shot and killed while walking to the club just after 12:30 p.m. “I see his blood on the ground,” Sacramento City Councilman Jeff Harris said. “Yes. It’s hard.” Harris, who was familiar with the victim, spoke of the importance of meetings like the one that brought people together Monday. “You need catharsis after something like that,” Harris said. “People are feeling frustrated and it was a pretty productive session for constituents and the police to listen to constituents and hear their deeper concerns.” Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he attended the meeting to hear and talk about what the city is doing to keep people safe. “They want to feel safer. They deserve to feel safer. And we’re the ones chosen… to try to make it better,” Steinberg explained. “I know I will continue to do everything in my power to reassure people that their city is safe and will remain safe.” Police Chief Kathy Lester discussed the imminent arrest of 23-year-old Dezin Brasser Jr., who is now being charged in connection with the murder. She said the community’s sadness and fear is misplaced and that now it’s about coming together to figure out what to do next. “This community is very strong. They came together tonight,” Lester said. “They wanted to get answers and talk to not only the chief of police and the police department, but the elected officials to try to better understand what they can do as a community and come together.” For many people who live in But after Thursday’s killing in East Sacramento, questions remain that worry them. “The question they couldn’t answer was the most important to me, and that was: Was Mr. Starzynski targeted or was it an accident?” said Susan Z’Berg, who lives nearby. “If it was accidental, the fact that people are going up and down our allies right now, it scares us.”
Dozens gathered Monday night at the East Sacramento Tennis Club, where Karl Starzynski, 70 years old, was shot on Thursday last week to ask questions of elected leaders and government officials.
The meeting at the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club addressed a number of public safety issues.
Starzynski was killed as he was walking to the club just after 12:30 p.m
“I see his blood on the ground,” Sacramento City Councilman Jeff Harris said. “Yeah. It’s hard.”
Harris, who was an acquaintance of the victim, spoke of the importance of meetings like the one that brought people together on Monday.
“You need catharsis after something like that,” Harris said. “People have frustrations and it was a pretty productive session for constituents and police to listen to constituents and really hear their deep concerns.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said he attended the meeting to hear and talk about what the city is doing to keep people safe.
“They want to feel safer. They deserve to feel safer. And we’re the ones chosen… to try to make it better,” explained Steinberg. “I know I will continue to do everything in my power to reassure people that their city is safe and will remain safe.”
Police Chief Kathy Lester discussed the imminent arrest of 23-year-old Dezin Brasser Jr. the man is now accused of involvement in the murder.
She said the community’s sadness and fear is not for nothing and that now it’s about coming together to figure out what to do next.
“This community is very strong. They came together tonight,” Lester said. “They wanted answers, and they wanted to talk not only to the police chief and the police department, but to the elected officials, to try to better understand what they could do as a community and come together.”
But for many people who live in East Sacramento, questions remain that haunt them after Thursday’s murder.
“The question they couldn’t answer was the most important to me, and that was: Was Mr. Starzynski targeted or was it accidental?” said Susan Z’Berg, who lives nearby. “If it was accidental, the fact that people are going up and down our allies right now, it scares us.”