dropped by Villani at long on when she had just three and it initially

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A man took a coconut cream pie from a grocery bag, grabbed Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson from behind and smacked him in the face with it at a charity event, leading the former NBA star to start swinging and then tackle the man who was left battered and facing assault charges.The pie wielder and local activist, Sean Thompson, 32, said Thursday that the mayor overreacted, sending him to the hospital for nine stitches before he went to jail. He said he was angry Johnson devoted so much political energy to an arena for the citys basketball team and not to other needs such as education and homelessness.The mayor was greeting people eating at an outdoor charity dinner Wednesday night at Sacramento Charter High School when Thompson pulled Johnson back and shoved the pie in his face, said Johnsons chief of staff, Crystal Strait.There was no throwing of the pie, said Erika Bjork, who works for a professional soccer team in Sacramento and saw the encounter up close. This was a direct assault. It just happened that he had a pie in his hand.Bjork, whose boss is a major donor to Johnson, said the mayor looked shocked and swung at Thompson multiple times, but she didnt see him land any punches.Thompson had red and blue bruises and a roughly 1-inch line of stitches under his left eye when he spoke to The Associated Press in jail.When I threw the pie at him, right at that moment, I shouted at him. I said, `You need to better represent me, Thompson said.He said the mayor turned and hit him at least twice and pretty hard. Thompson said he covered his face and started to move away but was quickly surrounded by people and kept taking hits. He couldnt tell who delivered the blows.Thompson said he expected to be tackled by police but was caught off guard when the punches came from the mayor. He said he has no regrets but was surprised to be facing a felony, assaulting a public official.He was held on $100,000 bail and was expected to be formally charged Friday.Johnsons signature achievement in office was getting a $550 million arena built for the Sacramento Kings, which Thompson said took attention away from other issues.Cres Vellucci, who organizes legal support for activists at the National Lawyers Guild in Sacramento, said people in the social justice community are concerned about Thompsons safety and Johnsons physical response.Prosecutors will review the case, including the mayors reaction, after receiving the police reports, likely on Friday, district attorney spokeswoman Shelly Orio said.Whether youre hit in the face with a pie or a fist, youve been assaulted and youre generally allowed to respond with similar force, said Rory Little, a former litigator and professor at University of California Hastings College of the Law.Johnsons response probably is not a disproportionate reaction, though it might not be the reaction we want our public officials to have, Little said.Vellucci wrote in an email that he met Thompson five years ago and described him as a nonviolent person who participated in some of the first Black Lives Matter protests in Sacramento in 2014 and in Occupy Sacramento rallies before that.Police and Johnsons chief of staff said Thompson was not previously known to the mayor and his staff. In an interview with local TV stations, Thompson said hes interacted with Johnson many times during city meetings for activists and that the mayor often appears disinterested and unengaged in community members concerns.Johnson is well-known for his efforts to revitalize Oak Park, a predominantly African-American neighborhood.Hes a graduate of the high school where the event was held Wednesday and brought it back from the brink of dissolution in the early 2000s by incorporating it in a system of charter schools he founded to help disadvantaged communities.Johnson, who had a long career as an NBA All-Star with the Phoenix Suns and a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has about two months left as mayor. He decided not to seek a third term.---Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report.---This story has been corrected to show that the first name of Cres Vellucci was misspelled Chris and that Thompson had injuries around his left eye, not his right. 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Tammy Beaumont (32) and Charlotte Edwards (31) put on 67 for the first wicket to give England - runners up to Australia in 2012 and 2014 - the ideal start to overhauling a total of 132-6, which featured Meg Lannings second fifty of the tournament.But - with no side having successfully chased more than 124 in the tournament - Edwards side lost six wickets for 28 runs before coming up short on 127-7, after failing to score the required 13 off the final over.Australia will now play the winner of the second semi-final, between New Zealand Women and Pakistan Women, live on Sky Sports 2 from 9.30am on Thursday, in Sundays final - a match you can also watch on Sky Sports 2. Charlotte Edwards sweeps as England make a strong start to their chase Lannings side had averaged just 25.25 in the powerplay in their four group games but eased past that mark in a little over three overs as Alyssa Healy (25 off 15) and Elyse Villani (19) went on the offensive.The openers struck four boundaries each in five overs before Nat Sciver, just back on her feet after being felled by a rogue throw from team-mate Katherine Brunt, trapped Villani lbw for 19 off 20 playing across a straight one to make it 43-1.Healy struck the ball cleanly, making her failed attempt to reverse sweep Laura Marsh mystifying, but England couldnt deepen the in-roads swiftly. Danni Wyatt had a glorious chance to run out Lanning on 20 but threw at the stumps rather than into Sarah Taylors gloves, the skipper surviving to build a 36-run stand with Ellyse Perry, who contributed 10 before picking out midwicket off Sciver.Taylor, standing up to Anya Shrubsole, couldnt grasp a tough chaance when Lanning had 45 and the seamer then fumbled a run out chance with Alex Blackwell over halfway down the pitch.ddddddddddddBut the fielding picked up in the final four overs - in which Australia failed to score a single boundary as England took pace off the ball - with direct hits from the deep by Sciver and Shrubsole accounting for Blackwell (11) and Lanning late on.The momentum stayed with England as Beaumont and Edwards, the leading run-scorer in the tournament, each struck 15 runs off the first six overs - 10 extras swelling the tally to 40-0. Tammy Beaumont top-scored with 32 for England but could not push on Beaumont crashed the first six of the match, dispatching a Perry full toss over square leg for six, before Edwards brought up the fifty stand from seven overs with a reverse sweep for four off Kristen Beams.The pair improved their stand to 67 before Edwards fell right at the midway point of the innings, driving Beams to Lanning at extra cover to leave England needing 66 from 60 balls with nine wickets in the bank.Taylor - her previous best in the tournament the 16 scored against India - was dropped by Villani at long on when she had just three and it initially proved expensive as the wicketkeeper-batsman advanced to strike six over long on.Beaumonts 40-ball knock ended when she miscued Schutt to Lanning and Sciver was bowled third ball after walking across her stumps.England lost their third wicket for the addition of just eight runs when Villani juggled, but grabbed a Heather Knight chance at long on and the slump continued as the rate climbed, Taylor proving the key wicket as she was caught behind attempting to scoop Rene Farrell over Healy.Watch highlights of England Women against Australia Women on Sky Sports 2 from 6.30pm, then get our panels Verdict from 8.30pm. 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