Police in riot gear, wearing gas masks and carrying assault rifles, along with armored vehicles, were used to disperse a crowd participating in an unsanctioned protest in a Baton Rouge neighborhood where police diverted them as they marched toward Interstate 110.
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In Baton Rouge, La., the death of Alton Sterling sparked large protests over the weekend, drawing hundreds of people from Louisiana and around the country.
The arrests in Louisiana’s capital city come amid heightened tensions following the deadly police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge and Minnesota and the killings of five police officers in Dallas last week.
“We have 400 years of history that have dictated where we are right now”, Mr. Dunn told listeners, as speakers asked for “common ground”. Protests were a result of the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling outside a convenience store July 5, 2016.
The ACLU also accuses the Baton Rouge police of executing the arrests with “unnecessary and excessive physical force”, as Lee Rowland, a senior staff attorney, wrote for the group’s website.
Authorities said they arrested one suspect – Antonio Thomas, 17 – at the scene with a handgun and a BB gun. “Instead, they have met words with weapons, peace with violence. Well, this is the reason, because we had credible threats against the lives of law enforcement in this city”, Police Chief Carl Dabadie said.
Among other allegations, the suit claims police arrested protesters for failing to comply with contradictory orders, trespassing after being forced from public property and blocking traffic in the absence of obstruction.
– Demonstrators were arrested for obstruction for stepping foot on any paved surface adjacent to the road, even if they didn’t obstruct anything.
Cameron Sterling said during a news conference Wednesday that people should protest but that they protest peacefully. The case is co-counseled by Sima Atri, staff attorney at the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice and cooperating counsel Ron Wilson on behalf of on behalf of Black Youth Project 100 and the Louisiana chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. “Seeing the way the police were manhandling folks caused me to hide, scream out of fear, and finally flee for my safety”, she said. “I had to run”, Crystal Williams, a North Baton Rouge Matters organizer, told The Advocate.
Esman hopes the lawsuit will change how officers handle peaceful demonstrations going forward. The protest was in support of Philando Castile who was killed by police in a suburb near St. Paul on July 6. Police also said that arrests were made after some protesters threw pieces of concrete at officers Sunday.
Cameron Sterling spoke of the protests while addressing reporters Wednesday morning.
– People in jail said they were Maced or pepper-sprayed for making comments or singing protest songs.
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This report includes material from the Associated Press.
