Last Updated Mar 27, 2018 11:44 AM EDT
BATON ROUGE — Two Louisiana officers who fatally shot a black man in 2016 won’t be prosecuted in the death, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced Tuesday.
Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot to death July 5, 2016, as two white officers pinned him to the pavement outside a Louisiana convenience store where he had been selling CDs.The officers were responding to the report of a man with a gun. Officer Blane Salamoni shot and killed Sterling during the struggle. Officer Howie Lake II helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but Lake didn’t fire his gun.
The killing was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely online, sparking demonstrations across Baton Rouge.
Landry made the announcement after meeting with family members of Sterling.
Veda Washington-Abusaleh, Sterling’s aunt, was in tears after meeting with Landry.
“They said they didn’t find anything,” she said. “They said it was justifiable, what happened to Alton was justifiable.”
State investigators received the case in May 2017 after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would not be pursuing civil rights charges against the officers, reports CBS affiliate WAFB. The office re-examined the evidence that was analyzed by the DOJ during their 10-month investigation, Landry said during a press conference Tuesday.
Landry said Sterling didn’t follow officer’s commands and that officers first deployed a Taser twice, with little or no effect, before Sterling was fatally shot. The officers recovered a loaded revolver from Sterling’s pocket.
The officers “had reason to believe [Sterling] was armed with a firearm and was continuously resisting,” Landry said.
Officers attempted to verbally warn Steling that he would be shot if he didn’t comply, Landry said.
“Throughout the encounter the officers attempted several non-lethal techniques to gain control of Mr. Sterling’ hands,” Landry said.
Attorneys L. Chris Stewart and Brandon DeCuir, who represent Alton Sterling’s five children, said Landry met Tuesday morning with Sterling’s relatives and their lawyers in Baton Rouge.
In June 2017, lawyers for Sterling’s five children filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Baton Rouge, its police department and former police chief, and the two officers involved. Their suit alleges the shooting fit a pattern of racist behavior and excessive force by the Baton Rouge police. It also claims poor training and inadequate police procedures led to Sterling’s death.
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