In the self-described manifesto, which was started off with the words “Peace Family”, Long wrote about a “concealed war” between “good cops” and “bad cops”, and said he felt obligated to “bring the same destruction that bad cops continue to inflict upon my people”. Shots then rang out, killing the 37-year-old black man. The day after Sterling died, Philando Castile, another black man, was shot and killed by a police officer in Minnesota. Garafola was a 24-year veteran of the sheriff’s office.
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Police say Gavin Long, a former Marine from Missouri, dressed in black and opened fire on officers Sunday.
Gov. John Kasich has ordered that all flags be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds in Ohio July 22 to honor the Baton Rouge attack victims.
In a video posted July 10, Long said he was speaking from Dallas after another black man killed five police officers there.
“There is no doubt whatsoever that these officers were intentionally targeted and assassinated”, Louisiana State Police Superintendent Colonel Mike Edmonson said of the Sunday incident at the news conference.
Police-community relations in Baton Rouge have been especially tense since Sterling’s death. Fittingly, the casket for the veteran who served three tours in Iraq will be customized to reflect his character.
First in Dallas and now in Baton Rouge, lone gunmen armed with AR-15 semi-automatic military-style weapons have killed police officers – eight in all – and wounded almost a dozen others, some critically. “The Bible says that men’s hearts are evil and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and the only answer is the Lord Jesus Christ”. His casket will have a Superman shield, he said. He added that Garafola’s family plans to have him cremated after the funeral and will also receive a customized burial urn.
In the document, he said he belonged to the Washitaw de Dugdahmoundyah, also known as the Washitaw Nation, a black anti-government group whose members believe they are indigenous to the United States and beyond the federal government’s reach, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Long also discussed protests in Baton Rouge, which broke out after police fatally shot a black man in a confrontation in a convenience store parking lot July 5.
Sadly, Jackson never got to receive that hug after he was gunned down by Long who was subsequently killed by a SWAT sniper.
A few days before the Sunday shooting, the police chief said he visited some officers to lift their spirits after many days of protests in the city. “I reject those efforts, for they do not reflect the reality of our nation”, he wrote. The class, he said, was a way to look at the study of psychology more broadly than the Euro-centric treatment it usually gets.
Of the two officers who survived the shooting, one was hospitalized in critical condition, and the other was in fair condition.
“I know they are hurting, but I want them to know that we are here for them now and forever”, Gautreaux said.
Jackson’s father-in-law, Lonnie Jordan, called him a “gentle giant” – tall and stout and formidable-looking, but with a peaceful disposition.
Long’s motive remains unclear. He also peddled self-published books about empowerment and spiritual enlightenment.
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Sadly, shootings and tragic deaths have made up numerous national news stories in the last couple of months, with the latest tragedy involving three officers from Baton Rouge, La. who were killed this past weekend.
