Protesters paint signs to support the protest against the Alton Sterling shooting on July 10, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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In a roughly three hour service, luminaries including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and close family members spoke about Sterling, his death and the police treatment of African-Americans.
“Today, District Attorney Hillar C. Moore, III announced that after reviewing 185 individual affidavits of probable cause for arrests occurring between 7/8/16 and 7/11/16, he has determined that he will not prosecute approximately 100 of these cases involving protestors only charged with the misdemeanor crimes of obstruction of a roadway or public passage”.
A Baton Rouge man accused of stealing guns from a pawn shop told investigators he was motivated by money, despite claims that an alleged accomplice said they stole firearms to shoot police officers.
The press release notes that four protesters remain in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison due to “other matters”. Although Alton’s death has resulted in a number of protests across the country calling for justice, Sterling family spokesperson Gary Chambers made it clear that demonstrations would not be welcome at his funeral service.
The funeral marked Sharpton’s second visit to Louisiana in as many weeks.
The White House says Roy Austin, deputy assistant to the president for urban affairs, attended the funeral for 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. She, like so many others, says she wants aggressive policing to end. His death, along with another fatal police shooting in Minnesota last week, sparked protests and heightened tensions in Baton Rouge.
Protests over police treatment of blacks drew thousands in Baton Rouge, and the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Sterling’s shooting.
Sterling was shot and killed in the store’s parking lot during an altercation with two white officers responding to a 911 call about a man threatening someone with a gun. Police have said they found a gun in Sterling’s pocket.
Meanwhile, a man involved in what police have described as a credible threat to harm police officers made his initial appearance in federal court Friday. Heartbreaking photos from the funeral service showed family members inconsolable as they stood over Alton’s open casket just before the service began.
State and local law enforcement officials said during a news conference Tuesday that the stolen guns were part of a credible threat to harm police officers.
Carl Slaughter, a Baton Rouge resident who has run a community center for 35 years, remembered Sterling as a teenager who spent many hours there after the death of his parents.
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The private ceremony will be held at Southern University around 11:30 a.m. Sharpton and Jackson are expected to attend, CNN reports.
