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Video Appears to Show Police Shooting a Man in Baton Rouge, La. Alton Sterling Shooting by Police in Baton Rouge Sets Off Protests
(about 9 hours later)
Protesters gathered in Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday night after a black man was fatally shot in an encounter with police officers earlier in the day, an incident that was captured in a graphic cellphone video that began circulating widely on social media. Scores of protesters gathered in Baton Rouge, La., on Tuesday night after a black man was fatally shot in an encounter with police officers earlier in the day, an incident that was captured in a graphic cellphone video that began circulating on social media.
Alton Sterling, 37, was killed in a shooting shortly after midnight Tuesday, the Baton Rouge police said in a statement. The police had received a call from someone who reported having been threatened by an armed man selling CDs outside a store in the eastern part of the city, the statement said. The victim, Alton Sterling, 37, was killed in a shooting at about 12:35 a.m. on Tuesday, the Baton Rouge police said in a statement. The police had received a call from someone who reported having been threatened by an armed man wearing a red shirt who was selling CDs outside a store in the eastern part of the city, the statement said.
A police spokeswoman reached early Wednesday said that she could not comment beyond the statement, which provided no details of what it called an “altercation” between Mr. Sterling and the two officers who responded to the call. A police spokeswoman reached early Wednesday said that she could not comment beyond the statement, which provided no details of what it called an “altercation” between Mr. Sterling and the two officers who responded.
William (Beau) Clark, the coroner of East Baton Rouge Parish, said that Mr. Sterling had died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. William Clark, the coroner of East Baton Rouge Parish who is known as Beau, said that Mr. Sterling had died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back.
A cellphone video shot by a bystander shows Mr. Sterling being tackled to the ground by a police officer. He is then held to the ground by two officers, and one of the officers appears to hold a gun above Mr. Sterling’s chest. (The linked video is graphic.) A cellphone video shot by a bystander, which was released later in the day, showed Mr. Sterling being tackled by a police officer. He is then held to the ground by two officers, and one of the officers appears to hold a gun above Mr. Sterling’s chest. (The linked video is graphic.)
The two officers were placed on leave immediately after the shooting, according to the police statement. The two officers were placed on leave immediately after the shooting, according to the police statement. It is unclear whether Mr. Sterling had a gun, though there are some reports that police recovered one from his pocket. Someone on the video can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun.”
On Twitter, Mr. Sterling’s name began trending on Tuesday night, as members of the Black Lives Matter movement expressed disgust and anguish at his death. Images from social media showed scores of protesters marching in Baton Rouge. On Twitter, Mr. Sterling’s name began trending on Tuesday night, as members of the Black Lives Matter movement expressed disgust and anguish at his death. Images from social media showed large numbers of protesters marching in Baton Rouge.
A crowd outside of the Triple S Food Mart, where the shooting happened, swelled to more than 200 people, according to The Baton Rouge Advocate, with many demanding that the officers be punished.
At times, they chanted, “Black lives matter,” and “hands up, don’t shoot,” rallying cries that have echoed at protests across the country in recent years over concerns about racial bias in shootings by police officers.
In a Twitter post early Wednesday, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson called the shooting a “legal lynching.”
Representative Cedric Richmond, Democrat of Louisiana, released a statement early Wednesday that expressed outrage over the shooting and called on the Justice Department to investigate.
“I ask the leaders and citizens of Baton Rouge to join me in demonstrating our anger with dignity and demanding proper focus on our cause with perseverance,” he said. “His family and the citizens of Baton Rouge — especially the citizens of North Baton Rouge — deserve answers and that is what we will seek in a fair, thorough, and transparent way.”
State Representative C. Denise Marcelle, who was briefed by the police, told a local broadcaster that the officers had been wearing body cameras during the confrontation with Mr. Sterling but that they fell off during the struggle.
She said investigators had recovered surveillance footage from cameras mounted at a convenience store and on the dashboard of a patrol car.
A lawyer for the Sterling family, Edmond Jordan, who is also a state representative, said that he did not know whether Mr. Sterling carried a gun and that several relatives he had spoken with “were not aware that he had a gun.”
Mr. Jordan, speaking on CNN, said he did not think the shooting was justified and questioned why the officer fired, and then waited to fire again.
“The city has to give some good answers,” he said, “and I think don’t they will be able to.”
Mr. Jordan urged calm in the community, asking that the protests remain peaceful out of respect for Mr. Sterling.