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Alton Sterling

Not Charging The White Officers Who Killed Alton Sterling Is A Travesty

April 3, 2018 By Colleen Kane Gielskie, Aclu.org , ,
On March 27, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced that his office would not bring criminal charges against the two police officers who shot and killed Alton Sterling as he lay pinned by them to the ground in front of a convenience store in Baton Rouge. Attorney General Landry’s decision is two contradictory things: It is shocking, and it is unsurprising. The decision sends a clear message about policing in America today, and highlights the continuing crisis of accountability when it comes to unlawful use of excessive and deadly force by police. The failure to hold police accountable for the killings of Black men and boys is standard practice at both the local and federal level. Last year, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the nation’s so-called “top cop,” and his Department of Justice concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring federal civil rights charges against the officers involved in Sterling’s death.

Alton Sterling’s Family Demands Action From Baton Rouge Officials

September 30, 2016 David Lohr, www.huffingtonpost.com , , , ,
By David Lohr for The Huffington Post - Alton Sterling’s frustrated family members and their supporters confronted Baton Rouge officials this week, demanding an update in the nearly 3-month-old investigation into the 37-year-old black man’s death. A police officer fatally shot Sterling near a convenience store where he sold CDs in July. The shooting sparked protests across the country against police misconduct.

I Can’t Watch Another Police Killing

July 21, 2016 Joshua Serrano, www.otherwords.org , , ,
By Joshua Serrano for Other Worlds - Philando Castile and Alton Sterling became the latest black Americans to turn into Twitter hashtags when videos of their deaths at the hands of police circulated on social media. But I couldn’t bring myself to watch them. I still remember the helpless frustration I felt, my stomach twisting in knots, as I watched the video of Eric Garner being choked to death while screaming “I can’t breathe.”

From Dred Scott To Alton Sterling: Still Second Class Citizens

July 15, 2016 Ebony Slaughter-Johnson, www.otherwords.org , ,
By Ebony Slaughter-Johnson for Other Worlds - When I heard about the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, I thought back to another name etched into American history: Dred Scott. In 1857, the Supreme Court was tasked with deciding whether Scott, an African American man born into slavery, should be granted his freedom. The justices not only denied Scott’s request, but also took the opportunity to send a chilling message to all African Americans, free and enslaved, that reverberates to this day.

Baton Rouge: “Put Those Damn Weapons Down!”

July 13, 2016 Bill Quigley, www.popularrestinance.org ,
By Bill Quigley. for Popular Resistance - “Put those damn weapons down. I'm not going to tell you again, goddamn it. Get those goddamn weapons down.” That was the first command of one of Louisiana’s most revered figures, General Russell Honore, when he arrived in New Orleans in 2005 to direct the military recovery after Hurricane Katrina. The General’s directions have not been followed in Baton Rouge. Since the police killing of Alton Sterling, thousands of people in Baton Rouge have been non-violently protesting day and night all over the city.

Man Who Posted Alton Sterling Shooting Video Arrested 24 Hours Later

July 12, 2016 Carlos Miller, www.photographyisnotacrime.com , , , ,
By Carlos Miller for PINAC - The man who made the video of the Alton Sterling shooting death go viral, one of two brutal videos from two states that sparked a national outrage and led to the shooting deaths of five Dallas police officers during an anti-police brutality protest Thursday – was arrested 24 hours later. Chris LeDay believes it was an act of retaliation. Considering police handcuffed and leg-shackled him after accusing him of assault and battery – only to jail him overnight for unpaid traffic fines – it certainly appears that way.

Store Owner Witness To Sterling Killing Video Equipment Taken, Detained

July 12, 2016 Zack Kopplin, www.thedailybeast.com , , ,
By Zack Kopplin for The Daily Beast - BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — The owner of the convenience store where Alton Sterling was killed last week by cops alleges in a lawsuit that police stole surveillance video from his shop, confiscated his cellphone, and locked him inside a car for the next four hours. Abdullah Muflahi, proprietor of the Triple S Mart, said he saw police confront and kill Sterling, who was selling CDs with his permission in his front parking lot last Tuesday night. Muflahi recorded part of the incident in footage he gave The Daily Beast last week that shows Sterling did not have a weapon in his hand when Officer Howie Lake shouted “Gun!” and Officer Blane Salamoni fired six shots into his chest.

Following Horrific Violence, Something More Is Required Of Us

July 11, 2016 Michelle Alexander, www.billmoyers.com , ,
By Michelle Alexander for Moyers and Company - I have struggled to find words to express what I thought and felt as I watched the videos of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile being killed by the police. Thursday night, I wanted to say something that hasn’t been said a hundred times before. It finally dawned on me that there is nothing to say that hasn’t been said before. As I was preparing to write about the oldness of all of this, and share some wisdom passed down from struggles of earlier eras, I heard on the news that 11 officers had been shot in Dallas, several killed from sniper fire.

How Protesters Actually Helped The Dallas Police

July 9, 2016 Tom Cahill, www.usuncut.com , , , , ,
By Tom Cahill for US Uncut. Black Lives Matter protesters had been working with local police from the early stages of planning the march, and the demonstration was completely peaceful. In one photo, a white police officer and a black police officer are seen posing with a black protester, all of whom are smiling. Additionally, the organizers of Dallas’ Black Lives Matter march issued a public statement, saying the group “does not condone violence against any human being, and we condemn anyone who wants to commit violence.” As soon as the shooting started, Black Lives Matter protesters helped police by identifying where the shots were coming from. Black Lives Matter

Thousands March On U.S. Capitol Following Police Shootings

July 9, 2016 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us , , , ,
By John Zangas for DC Media Group - Washington, DC–The shootings of two Black men by police caught on cell phone video prompted thousands to protest at the White House and Capitol building on Thursday night. Infuriated by lack of action to curb police violence against Blacks, a crowd of hundreds even pushed past barricades and attempted to ascend the Capitol steps. Several members of Congress left a floor session to address the protesters. Thousands assembled at the White House following the release of streaming video posted by the girlfriend of Philando Castile, who was shot by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop.

Why Alton Sterling And Philando Castile Are Dead

July 8, 2016 Kai Wright, www.truth-out.org , , , ,
By Kai Wright for The Nation - Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are dead, joining a long roll call of black people killed by officials acting in the name of public safety. And so the nation now begins a process so familiar as to have become rote. Many of us will want desperately to know more about these men's lives, not merely their deaths. After each of the many executions we have collectively mourned, I have grasped for those kinds of details -- some reminder that black lives do actually matter, to somebody.

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