12 May, 2017
On Tuesday, rumors circulated that the Department of Justice had concluded its investigation into the case and were not planning to death-investigation/" target="_blank">charge either officer due to lack of evidence.
Sterling, 37, was killed by police in Baton Rouge in July 2016.
Everett Matthews, of Baton Rouge, La., holds up a sign outside the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling was killed past year, in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert). Everett Matthews of Baton Rouge, holds up a sign outside the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling was killed past year, in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
The officers pinned Sterling to the ground, but in a video of the incident one officer can be heard yelling "he's got a gun!".
The U.S. Department of Justice has decided not to bring charges against two Baton Rouge police officers in the killing of Alton Sterling, the Washington Post is reporting, citing sources close to the matter.
"You can imagine how Alton Sterling's family felt reading that and getting a media alert on their phones about it".
The video of the deadly encounter is at the center of this debacle. "Both experts critiqued aspects of the officers' techniques and approach, but both said the officers did not act unreasonably ..."
No questions were taken after the conference.
A police report says the officers saw the butt of a gun in one of Sterling's trousers pockets and saw him try to reach for it before he was shot. A detective wrote in the search warrant affidavit that officers had observed the butt of a gun in Sterling's front trousers pocket.
He assigned a prosecutor from the Louisiana Department of Justice to assist the Louisiana State Police, claiming that no other unit in the state "has more experience or more expertise in the use of lethal force by law enforcement agents".
"Open up your heart, your eyes, and give us the justice that we deserve", Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Sterling's oldest son, said while fighting back tears.
Stop me if the story doesn't sound familiar: police were looking for a man matching Sterling's description, someone who called it in said Sterling was threatening people with a gun.
He emphasized that the entire time the officers and Sterling were on the ground lasted 27 seconds, meaning that decisions were made in a split-second manner.
"Therefore, this matter now needs to be investigated for possible state criminal violations", Landry said.
The case will now likely go to the State Attorney General's Office.
Cameron Sterling, other members of the Sterling family and their lawyers spoke to reporters Wednesday after federal officials announced they would not be pressing charges against two white Baton Rouge police officers involved in the black man's death.
The United States was then set on edge for weeks in July after a gunman shot and killed five officers in Dallas as peaceful protestors finished a march against police brutality.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry could still file state charges, but he has not launched an official investigation and hasn't disclosed his plans.
Edwards said his office coordinated closely with Amundson's office to make sure the DOJ's decision would be rolled out in an appropriate way that would limit the chances of protests and riots flaring up again.
Sterling's aunt Sandra Sterling called the Justice Department's reported decision "crazy".
"I do hope there will be some investigation to find out" how that information was leaked, Edwards said.
In some cases, but not this one, the federal Civil Rights Division conducts a civil investigation into whether a police department has engaged in "patterns and practices" in violation of civil rights laws. Authorities in such cases must meet a hard standard of proof, a challenge that has complicated prosecutions in past police shootings.
