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No Charges Will Be Filed Against Officers Who Shot Alton Sterling
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced that no charges will be fired Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II in connection with Alton Sterling's death.
No charges will be filed against the two Baton Rouge police officers involved in the 2016 shooting death of Alton Sterling.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced on Tuesday that an investigation determined that the officers’ actions were “reasonable," according to CNN.
"This decision was not taken lightly. We came to this conclusion after countless hours of reviewing the evidence," Landry said.
The decision comes over ten months after the Justice Department ruled out federal criminal charges, according to USA Today.
Sterling, a 37-year-old African American man, was selling homemade CD’s outside a convenience store when he was approached by two white officers: Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II. The officers were responding to a report that Sterling was selling CDs and that he allegedly threatened a man with a gun. They attempted to arrest Sterling and after a struggle, Salamoni shot and killed Sterling. The shooting was caught on video by several bystanders. In the footage, officers can be seen violently tackling him. Moments later, Sterling was dead. Before the fatal shooting, one of the officers can be heard yelling, “He’s got a gun! Gun!”
Police said that Sterling had a gun in his pocket, but Sterling’s relatives disputed that claim, The New York Times reported.
His death prompted national protests and outrage.
Tuesday’s news has also prompted outrage and many have taken to Twitter to express their feelings on the lack of charges for the involved officers.
[Photo: Facebook]
