Sterling was shot at point-blank range by officers with the Baton Rouge Police Department after being tackled and physically restrained, according to the complaint. Thomas is one of three people arrested by police and accused of stealing several handguns as part of what authorities Tuesd.
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Eight handguns and an airsoft BB gun were stolen from Cash America Pawn on Saturday before 2 a.m., police said.
Two more handguns were found on a man who allegedly bought them on the street, police said.
Malik Bridgewater, 20, and an unidentified 13-year-old have been taken into police custody.
They were protesting police brutality, including the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by a suburban St. Paul officer during a traffic stop last week.
Col. Mike Edmonson has stood by the actions of law enforcement, saying a local pawn shop burglary was linked to a threat against officers.
Black and white religious and community leaders from a broad spectrum of churches and groups have met in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to share emotions, tragic stories and map out a strategy for making the city more equitable and racially united. Thomas, Bridgewater and the juvenile were booked into parish prison for simple burglary and theft of a firearm and Coats was charged with illegal possession of a stolen firearm.
Alton Sterling’s death last week, and the police shooting of another black man the next day in Minnesota, thousands across the country participated in protests over police violence. “Well, this is the reason – because we had credible threats against the lives of officers in the city”. “Everyone needs to protest in the right way-with peace, no violence, none whatsoever”.
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“[The police response] made me afraid to protest”.
In and around Baton Rouge, heavily armed police clad in riot gear have been seen clearing the crowds of demonstrators.
About 200 protesters were arrested over three days by officers who were wearing riot gear and utilizing military vehicles. McKneely said all those involved in the burglary and involved in the threat to police are believed to be from the Baton Rouge area. The reports claim that the police lunged and grabbed at protesters, throwing them down to the ground.
A stream of mourners is paying their respects to Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old man who was fatally shot by Baton Rouge police on July 5. The FBI is now investigating the shooting to determine whether or not the officers violated Sterling’s civil rights. A fourth suspect possibly remains at large, police said.
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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.
