The Justice Department will investigate the public lynching of a black man in Baton Rouge, LA early Tuesday.
Alton Sterling, 37, was shot multiple times while he was pinned to the ground by 2 police officers outside a convenience store.
Sterling was selling music CDs outside the Triple S Food Mart early Tuesday when he was approached by 2 police officers.
A woman in a car parked nearby filmed a cellphone video of the confrontation. The video begins with the sound of a taser.
“Get on the ground!” a cop yells.
Sterling is seen with his arms held up before he is tackled to the ground.
“He’s got a gun! Gun!” one of the cops yelled. “If you move, I swear to god I’ll…” said one of the cops before gunshots ring out.
Baton Rouge police spokesman Cpl. L’Jean McKneely told The Advocate the officer said Sterling was reaching for a weapon.
But store owner Abdul Muflahi, who witnessed the shooting, told the Advocate one of the cops removed a gun from Sterling’s pocket after the shooting. Muflahi said Sterling’s hand was not near his pocket.
“I have very serious concerns,” Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards told the New York Times. “The video is disturbing, to say the least.”
The cops are identified as Blaine Salamoni, a four-year veteran, and Howie Lake II, a three-year veteran.
Both cops are placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
