Last Updated on July 7, 2016 by Andre Loftis
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]An impromptu protest filled the streets of Baton Rouge, LA., hours after a man was shot and killed by police.
37-year-old Alton Sterling was detained and shot by police officers on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 outside of the Triple S Food Mart. The two officers involved, Blane Salamoni and Howi Lake II, were put on administrative leave early Wednesday morning. The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is currently leading an investigation on the shooting.
Many people saw Sterling as the “CD man,” who regularly sold music and DVDs outside of the Triple S convenience store, including his family Lawyer, Edmond Jordan.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/CaAik-EvI3o”][vc_column_text]Jordan is an attorney and Louisiana state legislator representing Sterling’s family after the shooting.
“Alton was a respected man. He was beloved in the community. He did not deserve the treatment and this excessive force that was exerted on him by the police department,” Jordan, his attorney, told CNN.
Earlier that morning, an anonymous individual called to make a complaint that a man outside of a convenience store was carrying a gun. The caller also reported that the armed man was making threats nearby. Nearby store owner, Abdullah Muflahi told NY Daily News that he did not see Sterling with a weapon or witness Sterling being involved in any confrontation before the police arrived.
According to the viral video that shows Sterling being apprehended and shot by the police, the candid videographer captures the officers confronting Sterling in front of the Triple S Food Mart. One of the two officers pulls Sterling over a hood of a car and then pins Sterling to the ground. The second officer begins to assist restraining Sterling. In the video, an unidentifiable person yells “he’s got a gun.” Afterwards there is unintelligible yelling and an officer restraining Sterling pulls out a gun and shoots him several times.
During a press conference, the mother of one of Sterling’s children. Quinyetta McMillian spoke about the shooting. She and Sterling had a 15-year-old son.
“As a mother, I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father,” McMillian said.
Her son was also present on the stage. The 15-year-old began to cry, wailing “Daddy,” during the conference. The mother continued to speak about the injustice she saw in that video.
The preliminary autopsy found that Sterling died of “multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back,” the East Baton Rough Parish Coroner told CNN. A complete autopsy will be conducted in the next 60 to 90 days, according to the coroner.
Louisiana U.S. Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-02) was one of the first elected leaders calling for the United States Department of Justice to look into the shooting. Richmond sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting assistance from the DOJ.
“I am glad to see the U.S. Department of Justice taking the lead role in this investigation, working alongside the Louisiana State Police and the District Attorney’s Office of Baton Rouge to ensure there will be a thorough and transparent investigation of this incident,” Richmond told Data News Weekly.
At a press conference, the president of the NAACP’s Baton Rouge branch is searching for support in asking for both the city’s police chief and mayor to resign.
According to CNN, Michael McClanahan, Baton Rouge NAACP President, plans to challenge the attitude of Baton Rouge Police.
“What we’re going to do is root out the 1% of bad police officers that go around being the judge, the jury and executioner of innocent people, period, but more specifically, innocent Black lives,” McClanahan said.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text el_class=”small”]Courtesy of Data News Weekly[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]