The protests lasted well into the evening but died down a little after midnight.
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The tumult over police killings reached well beyond Louisiana. “Y’all have guns. We have posters!”
McKesson, 31, had traveled to Louisiana from Baltimore, where he grew up and returned past year after the death of Freddie Gray, the black man whose broken neck inside a police van sparked riots and upheaval.
Tensions between black citizens and police have risen palpably after police shootings of African-American men in Minnesota and Louisiana and the gunning down of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas in apparent retaliation.
Police made almost 200 arrests in Louisiana’s capital city during weekend protests around the country in which people angry over police killings of young black men sought to block some major interstates.
Suspect Eric Harris, shot multiple times, died in the February 8 incident, which has resulted in a pending FBI investigation.
The unrest happened just miles from where Philando Castile, one of the victims, was shot by police.
He was being held at the East Baton Rouge Parish jail, according to records.
After a lie-in lasting 15 to 20 minutes, the protesters moved on to join other protests planned later Friday at Lee Circle in New Orleans.
Marguerite Gordon, a 42-year-old restaurant owner, was among those who sprawled on the plaza in front of the police department.
Baton Rouge’s top prosecutor says his office hasn’t made any decisions on charges against protesters who were arrested over the weekend in demonstrations against killings by police. “We are working to identify this officer so we can better understand the reason he might have done this”, said the emailed statement from Lt. Jonny Dunham of the Baton Rouge Police Department.
More recently, the Bachman shot calls to mind a photograph of activist Maria-Teresa “Tess” Asplund standing alone and confronting several hundred neo-Nazi marchers in Sweden, her fist firmly raised in protest.
The altercation knocked the phone from McKesson’s hand, ending his live broadcast of the demonstration, she said.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said he’s “very proud” of the Louisiana law enforcement response to protests over the fatal shooting of a black man by white police officers in the city. He urged protesters in Louisiana to “keep the conversation constructive”.
Cornell William Brooks, the national head of the NAACP, visited Baton Rouge on Friday and said he is exhausted of victims of police shootings being treated as “hashtag tragedies” instead of human beings mourned by their families.
Perkins is the National Bar Association’s deputy general counsel.
Carney and Mackey Funeral Home of Baton Rouge is coordinating arrangements.
McMillon said Friday that she is grieving with the families of five police officers killed by a Dallas sniper as people marched to protest Sterling’s death. He says the nation can’t tolerate “a lynching in the 21st century by someone wearing a blue uniform”. Mckesson said he hopes the Justice Department, which already is investigating Sterling’s death, also reviews how Baton Rouge police have treated protesters. “Please, Jesus, don’t tell me that he’s gone”, she said.
Sterling had been living in a shelter for a few months by Living Waters Outreach Ministries in Baton Rouge. At that point, one officer says, “he’s got a gun” and then shots can be heard. I know that it’s tough on them, but we are very grateful that they have played such a critical role throughout this process by insisting that we remain calm, that we remain peaceful, and that our actions be lawful, and by insisting that violence is not the answer.
Edwards said hundreds have marched around the city, with only one injury to an officer and mostly misdemeanor arrests.
The video, which has been viewed more than 460,000 times by Sunday morning, captures a verbal exchange between McKesson and police moments before his arrest.
In Louisiana, Saturday’s demonstration began at the convenience store where 37-year-old Alton Sterling was killed by police.
At least one person was arrested. On his political agenda: plans to establish a system of community first-responders to de-escalate violence, and hire people who’ve been affected by police brutality to train officers on racism and community engagement.
Officials with BRPD report that two officers were injured during the protest. Cellphone video of his shooting was posted online and set off angry protests in Baton Rouge and beyond.
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Demonstrators on Thursday night blocked the intersection in front of the Triple S Food Mart, where the shooting took place, asking drivers to honk their horns.
