Black Man Fatally Shot by Louisiana Police, 1 Month After Passage of 'Blue Lives Matter' Legislation
Latest
Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old father of five, was fatally shot by police officers on Tuesday evening in Baton Rouge, La. while being pinned on the pavement by two police officers.
According to a statement from the Baton Rouge Police Department, officers were responding to a disturbance call from someone who reported that “a black male who was selling music cd’s and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun.”
The statement continues in the passive voice: “An altercation between Sterling and the officers ensued. Sterling was shot during the altercation and died at the scene.”
In a cellphone video of the shooting which surfaced on social media on Tuesday, you can see an officer tackle Sterling outside a convenience store and force him to the ground; the other officer pins his head to the pavement and puts his arm around his back. One officer shouts, “He’s got a gun,” and the other takes out his weapon and shoots, while Sterling is immobile, at least twice into the man’s head and chest.
East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William “Beau” Clark said an autopsy indicated that Sterling’s death was a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back.