17-year-old Antonio Thomas, 23-year-old Trashone Coats, 20-year-old Malik Bridgewater and a 13-year-old male have been arrested in connection to the burglary. People gather for Prayer Vigil organized by Myron Smothers at Memorial Tower on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, July 11, 2016.
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Sterling was shot to death as two white officers pinned him to the pavement. Philando Castile was fatally shot by a St. Anthony officer during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights last week.
He called for peaceful protests.
On July 5, Baton Rouge police officers shot and killed Alton Sterling as he was selling CDs outside a convenience store.
A total of eight firearms were stolen from the pawnshop and police stated that the burglary was part of a wider plot.
“In light of what happened in Dallas, understanding that just one gunman can change the situation entirely, how do you in good conscience put police officers on the street without the ability to defend themselves?” he said.
Local resident Crystal Williams, a North Baton Rouge Matters organizer, said the police response she witnessed first-hand made her afraid to protest.
The first suspect told police “the reason the burglary was being done was to harm police officers” the chief said.
“We have been questioned repeatedly over the last several days about our show of force and why we have the tactics that we have”, Dabadie said, according to the AP. 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.
Over 200 people were arrested during various protests in Baton Rouge last weekend, including one protest where riot gear-clad officers advanced in formation on protesters who (with the permission of the homeowner) had congregated on the front lawn of a private residence.
The federal lawsuit is accusing the Baton Rouge police of arresting protesters for peaceful, lawful protests in public spaces.
The temporary restraining order would prevent those parties from interfering with demonstrators’ constitutionally protected right to peacefully protest in the future. She said that she saw “assault weapons pointed at [the protestors] with fingers on the triggers, some dragged across the cement, their clothes ripped off of them”. Plaintiffs also say protesters were verbally and physically abused. It also alleges that detained protestors were maced or pepper-sprayed for singing protest songs while in jail.
The ACLU in Minnesota has not filed a lawsuit over the treatment of demonstrators, though the group says it is considering representing those demonstrators facing charges. The sheriff’s department did not respond to a request for comment.
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The week following Sterling’s death has been marked with both mourning and protests across the country calling for police reform.
