3 arrested in ‘credible threat’ to harm officers

The police department has come under criticism for the tactics it’s employed to deal with protesters, using riot police and military-style vehicles on the streets of the capital city. “Protesting in peace, not in violence”, he urged. Police are defending their actions after a fraught week of nationwide debate and sometimes violence following the police shooting deaths of two black men; a deadly sniper attack on officers in Dallas, Texas; and an alleged plot to harm Baton Rouge’s own officers.

The ACLU of Louisiana and other local groups filed a lawsuit against the Baton Rouge Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies Wednesday.

Authorities used “unconstitutional levels of force, including physically tackling nonviolent demonstrators and use mace, taser charges, and/or pepper spray on nonviolent protesters”.

However, they used the plot to kill officers, which they described as “real, credible evidence” that police were under a serious threat, as their justification for how law enforcement had handled protests in the city over the weekend.

The elder Sterling, 37, who sold CDs and DVDs outside the store, was fatally shot as he lay on the ground with two white cops – Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II – on top of him.

Dadabie said police responding to the protests were dressed in riot gear and armed with automatic weapons because of a concerns that members of the crowd might be armed with the intent to harm police officers. Baton Rouge police said in a statement that police were called to the convenience store because Sterling had allegedly threatened another patron with a gun.

The week following Sterling’s death has been marked with both mourning and protests across the country calling for police reform.

James said black community leaders want Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to appoint a special prosecutor to handle any state investigation into Sterling’s shooting death. “Here’s an actual incident where an individual said that these guns were aimed at killing Baton Rouge police officers and when I say Baton Rouge, any police officers in the Baton Rouge area”, Edmonson said Tuesday at a news conference. One of the officers pulled an object from his pocket as they searched his body – likely a gun.

A temporary restraining order also was filed to prevent police “from interfering with people’s constitutionally protected right to gather peacefully moving forward”, the ACLU said in a news release.

The protests in Baton Rouge were a few of many protests that took place from coast to coast, led by young people who are part of the Black Lives Matter movement. “Will the attorney general give them fairness?”

Cameron Sterling commented during the interview about an earlier press conference with his mother, Quinyetta McMillon, where he wept uncontrollably. Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie, Jr. said it appears the suspects were unsuccessful in their attempt to steal ammunition.