Killing of Alton Sterling

Alton Sterling (June 14, 1979 – July 5, 2016) was known locally in Baton Rouge as "CD Man".

He had a criminal record that included violent offenses, and had been sentenced to serve 5 years following a 2009 incident that stated he had resisted arrest.

During a struggle with the arresting officer in 2009, a "black semi auto gun fell from his waistband".

The police officers involved in the shooting were Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni.

Lake had three years of law enforcement experience; Salamoni had four.

Lake was subsequently placed on a department-mandated leave.

He was also involved in a previous shooting of an African American male, where the fleeing suspect crashed his car into a house and then began firing at the six officers pursuing him.

The police returned fire, injuring the man in the torso.

Salamoni and Lake had both been previously investigated and cleared by their department for allegedly having used excessive force.

At 12:35 a.m., at 2112 North Foster Drive in the parking lot of Triple S Food Mart, Sterling was detained by Baton Rouge Police Department officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake.

This came after an anonymous caller reported that a man was threatening him and waving a handgun while in the process of selling CDs.

When Sterling refused to cooperate, the officers tasered Sterling for resisting several times, then forced Sterling to the hood of a sedan and then to the ground to subdue him.

Sterling was pinned to the ground by both officers; one kneeling on his chest and the other on his thigh, both attempting unsuccessfully to control his arms.

As Sterling's right hand remained free, Salamoni exclaimed, "He's going into his pockets! He's got a gun! Gun!"

Lake, pointing his gun, yelled, "Hey bro, if you fucking move, I swear to God!"

Then Salamoni was heard on the video saying, "Lake, he's going for the gun!"

The camera caught Salamoni firing three shots, panning away while three more shots were fired before panning back to show Sterling's body sprawled out.

Lake was not in the picture and Salamoni was about 3 ft away, with his gun drawn and pointed at Sterling, who had a gunshot wound in his chest.

Sterling was shot a total of six times all within close range.

The officers retrieved a loaded .38 caliber revolver from Sterling's front pants pocket.

The officers then radioed for Emergency Medical Services.

According to Parish Coroner William Clark of East Baton Rouge, a preliminary autopsy, on July 5, indicated that Sterling had died from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and back.

Multiple bystanders' cell phones captured videos of the shooting as well as store surveillance cameras and officer body cameras.

One of the bystander's videos was filmed by a group called "Stop the Killing", which listens to police scanners and films crimes in progress.

They also listen to police interactions in an effort to reduce violence in the community.

A second video was made available the day after the shooting by the store owner and eyewitness, who said in a statement to NBC News, "Sterling never wielded the gun or threatened the officers."

The owner of the store where the shooting occurred said that Sterling had started carrying a gun a few days prior to the event as other CD vendors had been robbed recently.

He also said that Sterling was "not the one causing trouble" during the situation that led to the police being called.

On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The officers, who were attempting to control Sterling's arms, shot Sterling to death, which was preceded by Salamoni threatening Sterling with his gun before Sterling was restrained, yelling that he would "shoot [Sterling] in the fucking head" if he moved.

Police alleged that Sterling had reached for the loaded handgun in his pants pocket.

Police were responding to a report that Sterling was selling CDs and that he had used a gun to threaten a man outside a convenience store.

The owner of the store where the shooting occurred said that Sterling was "not the one causing trouble" during the situation that led to the police being called.

The shooting was recorded by multiple bystanders.

The shooting led to protests in Baton Rouge and a request for a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In May 2017 they decided not to file criminal charges against the police officers involved.

In response, Louisiana's attorney general, Jeff Landry, said the state of Louisiana would open an investigation into the shooting once the Department of Justice released the physical evidence.

In March 2018, Landry's office announced it would not bring charges against the officers stating that they acted in a "reasonable and justifiable manner".

In February 2021, nearly five years after the shooting, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council approved a $4.5 million settlement for the family of Alton Sterling to settle a wrongful death suit.

The family accepted the settlement a few months later and the case was closed.