There is a worldwide outrage about another killing of a black man by police in the United States.
37-year-old Alton Sterling was fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, early Tuesday morning in an incident caught on video by a witness.
The 48-second video showing the shooting ofAlton Sterling has sparked outrage in the community and on social media.
Sterling was shot and killed about 12:35 a.m. Tuesday, The Advocate reports.
He was selling CDs outside the Triple S Food Mart, at the corner of Fairfields Avenue and North Foster Drive, WAFB-TV reports.
Officers had responded to a disturbance call in which the caller said someone had been threatening him with a gun, police told the news station.
Baton Rouge Police have released few details about the shooting, including whether Sterling was armed. But a witness told The Advocate that Sterling did have a gun, but was not holding it or reaching for his pockets during the incident.
Here’s what you may need to know:
1. An Officer Is Heard Saying ‘He’s Got a Gun!’ & ‘You F*cking Move, I Swear to God!’ Before Shots Are Fired
The brief video, which you can watch above, shows the end of the incident. In the video, an officer can be heard yelling “get on the ground,” out of the view of the cell phone camera. As the camera pans up, an officer is seen charging at Alton Sterling, grabbing him and tackling him into the hood of a car and then down to the pavement.
Another officer can then be seen kneeling on Sterling. After a few seconds one of the officers yells, “He’s got a gun!” The officer seen in the video kneeling on Sterling draws his weapon and one of them says, “if you f*cking move, I swear to God!”
One of the officers then says, “Mike, he’s going for the Taser!’
Two shots can then be heard and the bystander drops the cell phone. Three more shots are then fired after a brief pause.
The store’s owner, Abdullah Muflahi, told The Advocate that Sterling was armed, but said he was not holding his gun or touching his pockets during the incident, the Advocate reports. The gun was later found in his pocket, Muflahi told the newspaper. Police have not confirmed his version of events.
You can watch video of Muflahi talking about what he saw during the shooting, recorded by a reporter for The Advocate, below:
Muflahi told The Advocate that Sterling began carrying a gun after he was mugged. He said a Taser was used by the officers on Sterling, but it did not bring him to the ground. The sound of the stun gun can be heard at the start of the video.
Alton Sterling, 37, was fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. See photos of him here.
2. Sterling, Who Was Pronounced Dead at the Scene, Was Shot Multiple Times in the Back & Chest
Sterling was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting, the Baton Rouge Police Department said in a press release.
An autopsy was conducted later Tuesday. He died of multiple gunshot wounds to the back and chest, the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office told WBRZ-TV.
The video footage released today of the shooting of Alton Sterling by officers of the Baton Rouge Police Department was deeply troubling and has understandably evoked strong emotion and anger in our community,” said Rep. Richmond. “I share in this anger and join the community in the pursuit of justice. My prayers and thoughts are with Mr. Sterling’s family as they deal with this tragedy.”
There are a number of unanswered questions surrounding Mr. Sterling’s death. Including questions about the initial calls for police presence, the level of force used by officers, the verbal and physical altercation, and the response of the officers after he was shot. I call on the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a full and transparent investigation into this incident. The cause of justice requires state and local law enforcement to join in this request as soon as possible.
3. Members of the Community Say Sterling ‘Wasn’t a Bad Person’ & His Cousin Says He Would’ve Been ‘Too Scared’ to Fight the Police
Mignon Chambers, Sterling’s sister, told WAFB-TV that he was a father of five who has been selling CDs outside the store for years.
“I really wanna know more about what happened, about the whole situation, because my brother didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve it at all,” Chambers told the news station.
Sharida Sterling, his cousin, told The Advocate, “He would have never fought the police, he wouldn’t have pulled a gun, he would have been too scared.”
He was known as “CD Man” and was living in a shelter in Baton Rouge, Living Waters Outreach Ministries in recent months, The Advocate reports.
“Whatever he cooked, he cooked enough for everybody,” fellow resident Calvin Wilson told the newspaper. “I never saw him coming in here with a weapon, and I never saw him drunk.”
Wilson described the facility as a place for people looking to get back on their feet and said Sterling had a job as a cook.
“He wasn’t a bad person,” another resident, David Solomon, told the newspaper
Sterling was a registered sex offender, state records show. He was convicted in 2000 of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and was released from prison in 2004. Details of that case were not immediately available.
Sterling also had convictions for aggravated battery, criminal damage to property, unauthorized entry and domestic abuse battery, The Advocate reports. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2009 for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and carrying an illegal weapon with a controlled dangerous substance.
Despite his record, Darian Gardner, his friend, told The Advocate that Sterling, “didn’t cause any harm to the community. He was nice. He wasn’t a bad guy. He was respectable.”
4. The Officers’ Body Cameras ‘Fell Off’ During the Incident
The two officers involved in the shooting have not yet been identified. No other biographical information about them, including their ages and how long they’ve been with the department has been released.
A police spokesman told The Advocate names of the officers will be made public “first thing in the morning” Wednesday.
Police said in a statement on Facebook that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
In addition to the witness video, police said they have surveillance video from the convenience store and dash camera video from police vehicles.
The officers were wearing body cameras, but they fell off during the incident, State Representative Denise Marcelle told WAFB-TV.She said Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. told her about the cameras falling off, and said they do not show the shooting as a result.
Sterling’s family has called for all other video showing the shooting to be released, while police have asked any witnesses who recorded video to turn it over to them to aid in the investigation.
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5. The Shooting Has Led to Protests in Baton Rouge
A large crowd of protesters, including Sterling’s family members and friends, gathered at the scene of the shooting throughout the day Tuesday, with the group growing at night, according to reporters at the scene.
The protesters briefly shut down traffic:
Protesters say they plan to gather Wednesday at Baton Rouge City Hall at 8 a.m.
Sterling’s name was trending worldwide on Twitter and on Facebook Tuesday night as the video was shared across social media.
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