Feds open investigation into deadly police shooting

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Family and friends of Alton Sterling, including his cousin Jakayla Sterling, foreground, protest on the corner of Fairfields Ave. and North Foster Drive, after Sterling was fatally shot in an altercation with Baton Rouge Police, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. (Travis Spradling/The Advocate via AP)

Baton Rouge police said they have dash-cam video, body-cam video and store surveillance video of the police shooting death of a black man outside a convenience store.

Alton Sterling, 37, was confronted by police and shot on Tuesday after an anonymous caller said he had threatened someone with a gun outside the store, where he was selling homemade CDs, authorities said.

VIDEO OF STERLING’S KILLING (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT)


Source: Baton Rouge Crime

Police said Wednesday that the audio and video will be turned over to the U.S. Justice Department, which will open a civil rights investigation into the videotaped police shooting.

CCTV America’s Sean Callebs reports.

The body-cam footage may not be as good as investigators hoped for because the cameras became dislodged during the altercation, Police Lt. Jonny Dunnam said.

In a cellphone video taken by a community activist and posted online, two officers had Sterling pinned to the ground, and gunfire erupted moments after someone yelled, “He’s got a gun! Gun!”

ANOTHER VIEW OF STERLING’S KILLING (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT)


Source: The Daily Beast

Dunnam noted that even though federal investigators are taking the lead, there will be an internal investigation and the officers will be entitled to hearings before any disciplinary actions are taken.

The Baton Rouge police chief has identified the two white officers involved.

People gather in protest outside of the Triple S Food Mart on N. Foster at Fairfields Avenue, after the officer-involved fatal shooting of Alton Sterling on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Baton Rouge, La. An autopsy shows Sterling, 37, of Baton Rouge, died Tuesday of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back, said East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. William Clark. Officers responded to the store about 12:35 a.m. Tuesday after an anonymous caller indicated a man selling music CDs and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun, said Cpl. L'Jean McKneely. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

People gather in protest outside of the Triple S Food Mart on N. Foster at Fairfields Avenue, after the officer-involved fatal shooting of Alton Sterling on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in Baton Rouge, La. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said Wednesday that the officers are Blane Salamoni, a four-year member of the department and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave while the U.S. Justice Department investigates the shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling.

Baton Rouge Police Lt. Jonny Dunnam confirmed the races of the officers.

The shooting has fueled anger and protests in a Baton Rouge community, where officials and family members of the slain man called for a federal investigation on Wednesday.

Speakers at a news conference said they want answers to why 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot and killed outside a convenience store where he was selling CDs.

“Mr. Sterling was not reaching for a weapon, he looks like a man that was actually fighting for his life,” said state Rep. Edmond Jordan, an attorney for Sterling’s family.

Jordan said he and the family are calling on Baton Rouge police to turn the investigation over to state police.

The man who says he shot video of Sterling’s killing said he has been distributing the footage on social media as a service to the community.

Arthur Reed told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that he and a team from his company, Stop the Killing Inc., made the video early Tuesday of 37-year-old Alton Sterling’s death. Reed says his company shoots documentary-style videos about killings in Baton Rouge.

Reed says that on the day of Sterling’s death, two teams of people drove to the scene, outside a convenience store, after hearing about the incident on police radio.

Reed described the scene: “They were already messing with him, and it escalated. After the shots, we left.”

Family and friends of Alton Sterling, including his cousin Jakayla Sterling, foreground, protest on the corner of Fairfields Ave. and North Foster Drive, after Sterling was fatally shot in an altercation with Baton Rouge Police, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. (Travis Spradling/The Advocate via AP)

Family and friends of Alton Sterling, including his cousin Jakayla Sterling, foreground, protest on the corner of Fairfields Ave. and North Foster Drive, after Sterling was fatally shot in an altercation with Baton Rouge Police, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. (Travis Spradling/The Advocate via AP)

The mother of Sterling’s son, Quinyetta McMillon, trembled as she read a prepared statement at the gathering outside city hall, where a few dozen protesters and community leaders gather.

Her son, Cameron, who is 15, broke down in tears and sobbed as he was led away as his mother spoke.

She described Sterling as “a man who simply tried to earn a living to take care of his children.”

“The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis”

Jordan said police confiscated the video surveillance system from the store, but he said the store owner is confident the video shows the entire confrontation and shooting. Meanwhile, he said the video that someone outside the store made on a cellphone and posted online “certainly speaks for itself.”

“It’s a horrible thing, it’s a horrible thing to happen to him,” said Sterling’s aunt, Sandra Sterling. “He didn’t deserve that.”

Police say they were called to the store Tuesday after an anonymous caller said Sterling had threatened someone with a gun.

The video that purported to show the killing further fueled public anger about the shooting on Tuesday, prompting hundreds to protest. The protest lasted into the night.

Protestors gather at the intersection of N. Foster and Fairfields, Tuesday, near the Triple S Food Mart after Alton Sterling was shot and killed by Baton Rouge Police in the early hours of Tuesday morning, July 5, 2016, in Baton Rouge, La. An autopsy shows Sterling, 37, of Baton Rouge, died Tuesday of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back, said East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. William Clark. Officers responded to the store about 12:35 a.m. Tuesday after an anonymous caller indicated a man selling music CDs and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun, said Cpl. L'Jean McKneely. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

Protestors gather at the intersection of N. Foster and Fairfields, Tuesday, near the Triple S Food Mart after Alton Sterling was shot and killed by Baton Rouge Police in the early hours of Tuesday morning, July 5, 2016. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

In the video, which appears to be shot from inside a nearby parked car, one of two police officers outside the store can be seen tackling a man in a red shirt and wrestling him to the ground. Then the other officer helps him hold the man down.

At one point someone can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun! Gun!” and then one officer on top of the man can be seen pulling his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounds like a gunshot can be heard and the camera pulls away. Then another four shots can be heard. At one point, a person in the vehicle asks “They shot him?” as a woman can be heard crying.


The Associated Press has not been able to authenticate the video. But the appearance of the store in the video matches the front of convenience store where the shooting occurred. The man being subdued by police was wearing a red shirt, matching the description given earlier by police.

Sandra Sterling said the video “made us realize what really happened. It shed light on everything we didn’t know.”

At the Wednesday news conference, the head of the NAACP in Baton Rouge called for the police chief to be fired.

“What I’m calling for today is that the chief law enforcement officer to fire the police chief,” Michael McClanahan said. “He must step down. We cannot have anybody who allows this type of action to take place.”

State Rep. Denise Marcelle of Baton Rouge, who has been at the forefront of the protests, said she has talked to the police chief. She said the chief told her that body cameras fell off both officers during their “tussle” with Sterling. But Marcelle said she saw no evidence of that on the video.

“The footage that we have that’s good is from the store. Why haven’t they released that video? I don’t understand that”

By dawn Wednesday, protesters and friends had created a makeshift memorial to Sterling on the white folding tables and fold out chair he had used to sell homemade music compilations on CD’s.

Arthur Baines came by to pay his respects. “He never bothered nobody. He was just trying to make an honest dollar,” Baines said. He said he thought Sterling was out late on July 4th because more people were out on the holiday. “That’s really how he made all of his money,”

Mufleh Alatiyat, a 25-year old employee of the store described Sterling as generous and said he often gave away CDs or petty cash or bought food or drink for some people.

“He was a very nice guy,” he said. “He helped a lot of people.”

Story by the Associated Press