Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering.
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The US Department of Justice has launched a civil rights investigation into a police shooting of a black man in Louisiana. “He looks like a man that was actually fighting for his life”.
A police spokesman said at a press conference in state capital Baton Rouge on Wednesday that while the Justice Department will investigate potential civil rights violations, Louisiana state police will supplement the investigation to determine if any criminal actions took place.
Sterling was fatally shot in the early hours of Wednesday after an anonymous caller told police they had been threatened by a man with a gun, according to a police statement.
Salamoni is the son of Noel Salamoni, a captain in the department who is in charge of special operations, a fact that may have factored into the decision to turn matters over to the Justice Department.
The rally is being called a local push for justice, with protestors lending their voices to the struggle against police brutality. “During the altercation those body cameras came dislodged”.
According to court records, Sterling had multiple criminal convictions since the mid-1990s, for battery, resisting arrest, burglary and other crimes.
“If you feel helpless, but want to play a small part in easing the burden of #AltonSterling’s family, consider donating to this scholarship fund for his 15-year-old son (and his other kids)”, the GoFundMe page says.
The release of more footage Wednesday from a different angle reinforced the view in the minds of some that officers shot Sterling without cause. Two officers arrived and confronted Sterling, who reportedly had a gun in his pocket. Moments later, one of the officers shot and killed Sterling, a black man who had been selling CDs outside the store, while he was on the ground.
Video from the scene appears to show Sterling being held down and then shot several times.
At one point someone can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun!”.
A video of the shooting captured by a bystander went viral yesterday, prompting mass outrage online and sending #AltonSterling trending.
In the new 38-second recording, Sterling is already on the ground, on his back as an officer kneels on the footpath to Sterling’s left. Muflahi said he was interviewed by police for most of the night, returning to his store around 8 a.m.
Edmond Jordan, an attorney representing Sterling’s family, said the first video of the shooting raises troubling questions.
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“He never reached in the video”, Reed said.
