A 37-year-old Baton Rouge, Louisiana man named Alton Sterling was gunned down by police late Tuesday night, and was caught on a cellphone which shows the footage to be very disturbing to watch, but has been widely circulating online. In the video, Sterling is tackled and pinned to the ground by two officers, identified as Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, one of whom shouts, “He’s got a gun! Gun!” before both officers appear to draw weapons and several shots are heard as the individual recording the scene turns away.
In a confrontation that took place near a convenience store outside which Sterling was apparently selling CDs, the store manager recalls that he was 2-feet away from the altercation turned scuffle when he heard one of the offices yell “Gun!” then afterwards they fired four to six shots into Sterling’s chest, he was pronounced dead at the scene. The manger said “His hand were nowhere near his pocket,” adding that Sterling wasn’t holding a weapon. After the shooting, an officer reached into Sterling’s pocket and retrieved a handgun.
Sterling’s death has since triggered a protest in Baton Rouge in which the president of the local NAACP chapter is calling for the mayor and the city’s police chief to resign. Rep. Cedric Richmond, who represents the city, has called for a federal investigation of the incident.
Chilling Video of #AltonSterling Killed by Baton Rouge Police Officers pic.twitter.com/Eg5GDevVr0
— HBCU Buzz (@HBCUBuzz) July 6, 2016
