One protester wore a sign over their torso that read, “Black America, I’m sorry!”
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The service, which was open to the public, had several notable speakers in addition to Jackson, including Baton Rouge Councilwoman Chauna Banks Daniel, U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond and the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Cameron Sterling is consoled after the funeral of his father Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Sterling’s death was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely on the internet.
Officials say police went to the convenience store after an anonymous caller said they had been threatened by someone with a gun. Then the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas by a Black sniper heightened tensions even more.
Mourners file past the body of Alton Sterling at the F.G. Clark Activity Center in Baton Rouge, La., Friday, July 15, 2016.
Moore said they involve protesters who only were arrested on misdemeanor charges of obstruction of a roadway or public passage.
Cameron Sterling, son of Alton Sterling, who was killed by Baton Rouge police last Tuesday, holds the hand of his mother, Quinyetta McMillon, as he speaks to the media outside the Triple S Food Mart, where his father was killed, in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 13, 2016.
The Baton Rouge District Attorney announced Friday that he has decided not to prosecute more than half of the arrests that took place during a weekend full of protests, our partners at the Advocate report.
However, The Daily Advertiser reports that the police report detailing the investigation makes no mention of an alleged threat that the suspects were looking to harm police officers.
Deray McKensson of Baltimore, a prominent Blake Lives Matter activist, and Ieshia Evans of Dunmore, Penn., the woman pictured in a now well-known photo of a protest, are among the more than 100 protesters that East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore says he will not prosecute. Moore said his office is reviewing the rest of the arrests, which include allegations such as resisting arrest, carrying guns or some “act of violence”.
Alton Sterling was shot and killed July 5 in front of a convenience store after an altercation with police. He told people that if they wanted to protest, they should leave.
Police arrested Malik Bridgewater, 20, and three other suspects on theft and burglary charges after eight handguns were stolen from a pawn shop.
The casket of Alton Sterling is placed into a hearse during his funeral at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La.
The ACLU has sued Baton Rouge police and other law enforcement over the police treatment of demonstrators, saying officers were violently aggressive and showed little restraint and poor judgment in terms of who they arrested.
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The deaths in Louisiana and Minnesota renewed outrage against law enforcement’s treatment of minorities and also rekindled a national debate on race relations that began after police-involved killings two years ago.
