Police in Baton Rouge say they have arrested three people who stole guns with the goal of killing police officers.
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The son of police-shooting victim Alton Sterling is speaking out about the “good man” his father was and his hopes that protesters continue demonstrating peacefully.
I feel that everyone, yes, you can protest, but I want everyone to protest the right way. It has been just over a week since Alton Sterling was shot and killed by two police officers on July 5. However, they used the plot to kill officers, which they described as “real, credible evidence” that police were under a serious threat, as their justification for how law enforcement had handled protests in the city over the weekend.
All of the suspects are from Baton Rouge and all are black. He was booked into parish prison for simple burglary and theft of a firearm, police said.
Six of the eight handguns were recovered, authorities said.
“The objective of this Situational Information Report is to alert first responders of threats to law enforcement and potential threats to the safety of the general public”, the document said. The shooting was captured on cellphone video. The third person under arrest is a 13-year-old boy. Authorities called on the fourth suspect to turn himself in.
It wasn’t immediately known if those arrested had attorneys.
A group of local organizations are suing the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police over their treatment of demonstrators protesting the shooting death of a 37-year-old black man. In an affidavit filed with a search warrant on Monday, Baton Rouge police said officers saw “the butt of a gun” in Alton Sterling’s pocket and said he tried “to reach for the gun from his pocket”, the Associated Press reported.
About 200 protesters were arrested in Baton Rouge over a three day period.
The governor has defended the police, calling their response “moderate”. More broadly, a large police presence can keep a demonstration from turning into a riot, explained Pollini, a former New York City police detective.
“We’ve had a police officer with teeth knocked out of his face because of a rock. You have to make things better by making peace”.
The Baton Rouge police and the state police did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit. “The subject was shot multiple times and did not survive his injuries”.
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“We follow up on every single one of them”, Edmonson said in regard to a question about threats made against officers.
