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.
In the video, which was taken by bystanders on a cell phone, Sterling can be seen struggling with two officers who take him to the ground. As one officer pins one of the man’s arms, a voice shouts, “He’s got a gun!”, then the other officer then says, “Hey, bro, you fucking move I swear to God,” and both officers appear to draw weapons.
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The owner of the convenience store in the video, Abdul Muflahi, witnessed the incident first hand. In a statement to The New Orleans Advocate, he said:
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.”
https://twitter.com/mayalau/status/750367560349020162
L’Jean McKneely, a spokesperson for the Baton Rouge Police, said both officers were placed on paid administrative leave, per department policy:
“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.”
It is now being reported that while Sterling did have a gun, it was in his pocket at the time of the shooting.
