Alton Sterling was shot and killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Here’s what you need to know.
According to WAFB, police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, say an officer fatally shot 37-year-old Alton Sterling while responding to a report of a man threatening someone with a gun early Tuesday morning.
A shocking bystander video appearing to show the deadly confrontation later surfaced online. In the video, which is shown below, a man can be seen tackled by two officers. As one officer pins one of the man’s arms, a voice shouts, “He’s got a gun!”
One officer then says, “Hey, bro, you f***ing move I swear to God,” and both officers appear to draw weapons. A moment of them shouting, one of the officers appears to fire his weapon.
Speaking to The New Orleans Advocate, convenience store owner Abdul Muflahi provided his account of the shooting, which he says was preceded by the officers trying to pin Sterling to a parked car and firing a Taser at him:
At some point Sterling was tackled to the ground on his back, with one officer pinning down his chest, and another pressing on his thigh, Muflahi said.
Muflahi, who said he was two feet away from the altercation, said an officer yelled “gun” during the scuffle. An officer then fired four to six shots into Sterling’s chest, he said.
“His hand was nowhere (near) his pocket,” Muflahi said, adding that Sterling wasn’t holding a weapon. After the shooting, an officer reached into Sterling’s pocket and retrieved a handgun, Muflahi said.
“They were really aggressive with him from the start,” Muflahi said about the officers.
Sterling appeared to die quickly, Muflahi said. Just after the killing, the officer who fired the bullets cursed, and both officers seemed like they were “freaking out,” Muflahi said.
The store owner said he heard one of the officers say, “Just leave him.”
Police spokesperson L’Jean McKneely said both offiers have been placed on administrative leave following the shooting.
“It’s an ongoing investigation,” McKneely told WAFB. “We are going to interview the officers and get as much information as we need to do a thorough investigation. We’re going to be clear, precise and sure the community knows what transpired here at this location.”
According to State Representative Denise Marcelle, who sponsored a bill to give Baton Rouge officers body cameras and attended a protest of the shooting Tuesday night, police say both officers’ body cameras fell off during the confrontation, but at least one dash camera and one surveillance camera recorded the incident.
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