BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on the fatal police shooting of a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
A lawyer for one of the two officers involved in the shooting death of Alton Sterling says his client should remain on the police force.
Attorney Kyle Kershaw said Tuesday that Officer Howie Lake II’s actions in Sterling’s July 2016 death were in compliance with police procedure.
Earlier Tuesday, Louisiana’s attorney general announced that he wouldn’t bring criminal charges against Lake and Officer Blane Salamoni.
Salamoni shot and killed Sterling during a struggle outside a convenience store where the 37-year-old black man was selling homemade CDs. Lake helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but Lake didn’t fire his gun.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul says he plans to hold a disciplinary hearing this week for the officers. He says he hopes to complete the disciplinary process by Friday.
Salamoni’s attorney says he expects his client to be fired.
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2:10 p.m.
Residents gathered outside the Baton Rouge convenience store where a white police officer shot and killed a black man in 2016 weren’t surprised to learn that Louisiana’s attorney general ruled out criminal charges against the two officers involved in the deadly struggle.
Only a handful of people were at the Triple S Food Mart less than two hours after Attorney General Jeff Landry on Tuesday announced his decision in the investigation of Alton Sterling’s death.
Le’Roi Dunn, a 40-year-old cook, gestured at the spot where Sterling was killed and said it was wrong for the officers to avoid any charges. Dunn said it hurts to see the officers “get away and go on with their lives.”
Felma White, a 63-year-old retired food service worker, wore a shirt adorned with screen-printed news clippings showing Sterling’s grieving family and newspaper headlines about the shooting. She questioned why authorities didn’t immediately release footage from the body cameras worn by the two officers.
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1:00 p.m.
An attorney for a white Baton Rouge police officer who shot and killed a black man during a struggle says he expects the city’s police chief to fire his client.
Officer Blane Salamoni’s lawyer, John McLindon, says it’s “grossly unfair” that Police Chief Murphy Paul plans to hold a disciplinary hearing less than a week after the end of a criminal investigation of Alton Sterling’s July 2016 shooting death.
Paul says he hopes to complete the police department’s disciplinary process for the two officers involved in Sterling’s deadly shooting by Friday.
Earlier Tuesday, Louisiana’s attorney general ruled out state criminal charges against Salamoni or Officer Howie Lake II.
McLindon says he believes it’s a “foregone conclusion” that Paul will fire Salamoni.
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12:20 p.m.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul says he intends to release body camera and surveillance video of the fatal shooting of a black man after he concludes the disciplinary process for the two white officers involved.
Paul said Tuesday he plans to hold a disciplinary hearing this week for officers. He says he hopes to complete the disciplinary process by Friday.
Earlier in the day, Louisiana’s attorney general ruled out criminal charges against the officers in the July 2016 death of Alton Sterling.
Paul says the officers or their lawyers will be allowed to address the disciplinary panel, consisting of Paul and three deputy chiefs.
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12 p.m.
Family members of a black man fatally shot in a struggle with two white police officers are railing against a decision by the state attorney general to not prosecute the officers.
During a news conference Tuesday, Quinyetta McMillon said the way the officers killed Alton Sterling was “in cold blood.” McMillon is the mother of one of Sterling’s children, Cameron.
Attorney General Jeff Landry announced earlier in the day that he would not pursue criminal charges against the two officers in the 2016 incident.
Officer Blane Salamoni shot and killed Sterling during a struggle outside a convenience store. Officer Howie Lake II helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but didn’t fire his gun.
The shooting sparked widespread protests.
One of Sterling’s aunts, Sandra Sterling, said Salamoni took an oath to protect and serve, not “protect and kill.”
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11:20 a.m.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry says a black man fatally shot by two white police officers had illegal drugs in his system at the time of the encounter outside a convenience store.
The Tuesday revelation came as Landry announced there would be no criminal charges against the two officers in the Alton Sterling’s 2016 death.
Speaking at a news conference, Landry said it was “reasonable” to conclude Sterling was under the influence of drugs during the struggle with the officers “and that contributed to his non-compliance.”
Officer Blane Salamoni shot and killed Sterling during a struggle outside a convenience store where the 37-year-old black man was selling homemade CDs. Officer Howie Lake II helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but Lake didn’t fire his gun.
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10:25 a.m.
Louisiana’s attorney general has ruled out criminal charges against two white Baton Rouge police officers in the fatal shooting of a black man whose death fueled widespread protests.
Attorney General Jeff Landry’s announcement Tuesday comes nearly 11 months after the Justice Department ruled out federal criminal charges in Alton Sterling’s July 2016 death.
Officer Blane Salamoni shot and killed Sterling during a struggle outside a convenience store where the 37-year-old black man was selling homemade CDs. Officer Howie Lake II helped wrestle Sterling to the ground, but Lake didn’t fire his gun.
Two cellphone videos of the shooting quickly spread on social media, leading to nightly protests during which nearly 200 people were arrested. The officers’ body cameras and a store surveillance camera also recorded the encounter.
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10:05 p.m.
Lawyers say Louisiana’s attorney general is set to meet with relatives of a black man who was shot and killed in 2016 by a white police officer and inform them whether his office will charge either of the two officers involved in the struggle.
Attorney General Jeff Landry’s spokeswoman declined comment on the planned meeting Tuesday morning, saying only that it will have an update at a news conference Tuesday on the investigation into the 2016 shooting death of Alton Sterling.
However, attorneys L. Chris Stewart and Brandon DeCuir, who represent Alton Sterling’s five children, say Landry is to meet beforehand Tuesday morning with relatives of the slain main.
The U.S. Justice Department ruled out federal criminal charges in the case nearly 11 months ago.
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