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http://theadvocate.com/news/16357947-123/demonstrations-continue-in-wake-of-shooting
Photos, videos: Alton Sterling protests in Baton Rouge on Saturday mostly peaceful, but more arrests, scuffles with police
BY STEVE HARDY, MAYA LAU and BRYN STOLE| Advocate staff writers
July 9, 2016; 10:57 p.m.
Last updated: 2:20 a.m., July 10, 2016
Five days after the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, demonstrators on Saturday continued to hold rallies and marches in Baton Rouge, protests that grew increasingly heated as the night wore on.
Police response to the protesters grew more aggressive late in the night. At least twice, officers outfitted in riot gear charged at a group of protesters, scattering people in all directions. Several people were then seen to be arrested.
Over the course of the demonstration, scores of protesters were arrested or detained, including at least two members of the media and national Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson. A Baton Rouge police spokesman said two officers were injured, although how seriously was unclear.
The Saturday night arrests came a day after 30 people were arrested during protests about Sterling’s death.
Most of the demonstrations over the week have been peaceful, including the majority of a Friday night protest at police headquarters and a Saturday evening march downtown from City Hall to the State Capitol. But on Saturday night, when protesters along Airline ventured into the street — and sometimes even when they appeared not to — police were quick to arrest.
Maj. Doug Cain, a spokesman for the Louisiana State Police, said protester complaints that police were arresting people who hadn’t stepped into the road were incorrect. “They were clearly blocking the roadway — we respond to their actions,” said Cain. “We are only arresting those that are violating the law by stepping into the roadway.”
Politicians, groups and individuals who have attended events surrounding Sterling’s death have expressed a range of views. Some have argued for immediate action against the mayor, police chief and officers involved in the shooting. Others have preached patience and caution. Some have advocated for working within the criminal justice system, while others have expressed deep distrust of authorities, especially law enforcement.
Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed in a confrontation with two white police officers responding to a report that a man matching Sterling’s description pointed a gun at somebody early Tuesday morning. Two witnesses took cellphone video of the shooting, which quickly circulated and caused many to question whether police were right to fire their weapons.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baton Rouge and the New Orleans branch of the FBI have taken over the investigation of the shooting. Both officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave.
About 500 people marched from City Hall through downtown Baton Rouge in the evening hours Saturday, at some points observing total silence and holding fists in the air to honor Sterling, a father of five who sold CDs in the parking lot of the Triple S Food Mart where he was shot.
The protest was organized by local black community leaders, including East Baton Rouge Metro Councilwoman Tara Wicker, the Rev. Johnny Young, businessman Cleve Dunn Jr., state Rep. Ted James and Rouge Collection publisher Gary Chambers.
Several who attended said they wanted to emphasize that the officers involved in the shooting should be prosecuted.
“These officers need to be held accountable for what they did. I have sons and that could have been mine. I saw (the video of Sterling being shot) and I just cried, cried, cried. I’ve had nightmares,” said Charlene Brown, 60.
Ahmad Bowers, 37, stood with his 14-year-old son and said he attended the gathering because of his sons. He was raised in the north Baton Rouge ZIP code of 70805, often flagged by police for its high crime rate, and said he’s frustrated by the insufficient resources in the area, pointing to the lack of an emergency room in north Baton Rouge.
“We’re not gangsters; we’re not thugs. I’m the hardworking father of four,” Bowers said.
Demonstrators chanted “No justice, no peace! No racist police!” “Black lives matter!” and “Black power!” from the steps of the Louisiana Capitol building.
“When all your concerns and frustrations are brought to us, your concerns turn into policy,” James told the crowd.
James later denounced confrontational outside groups such as the New Black Panthers who had arrived in Baton Rouge and attended the protest in front of Baton Rouge headquarters.
“We do not condone these people coming here. That’s so against what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.
Meanwhile, a face-off between police and a group of New Black Panther Party members and others on Airline Highway outside the Baton Rouge Police Department’s headquarters led to several arrests. A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated during the confrontation, which occurred about 6 p.m. and involved about 200 to 300 protesters at its height.
Demonstrators had earlier blocked the southbound right lane of Airline Highway, but police got them to move back. After police returned to an area behind the fences surrounding the headquarters, a column of about 20 to 30 party members started marching in the lane that had just been cleared.
State troopers and city police in riot gear, along with a tactical vehicle, went back out, formed a line and fanned out in both lanes of traffic. There was a long, testy exchange between the New Black Panthers and police, with the Panther group leading the crowd in black power chants.
At least three were seen carrying shotguns. A scuffle broke out and several arrests were made as a police line rapidly advanced, beating batons on their shields until the roadway was cleared.
Sgt. Don Coppola said “multiple people were arrested” during the confrontation and that police confiscated two firearms. He also confirmed that Ryan Kailath, a reporter with the WWNO public radio station, was arrested on one count of simple obstruction of a highway. It was unclear if he was on assignment for the station at the time.
Police announced that anyone who ran into the road when it reopened would be arrested.
Throughout the night, protesters sporadically clashed with law enforcement — which included not only Baton Rouge police officers, and state troopers and East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies, but also sheriff’s deputies from Ascension and Livingston. At not long past 9 p.m., a group of hundreds of protesters headed down the side of Airline toward I-12, saying they wanted to block the Interstate. But police clad with shields and sticks eventually drove the protesters back. At least a couple people were seen to be hit with Tasers.
An estimated two dozen protesters were arrested on the I-12 access road, while police could be seen also detaining people while walking on the grass and shoulder.
During another police clash with protesters, a WAFB field producer was knocked into stepping into the road and was detained by police. Around the same time it appears activist McKesson was arrested, a BRPD spokesman confirmed, although it was not clear on what count.
The protests near police headquarters are a relatively new development since Sterling died.
During the first three nights of protests demonstrators gathered outside the Triple S store parking lot. They held rallies, remembering Sterling, calling for prosecutions of the involved officers and demanding an outside investigation of the case. As the evenings wore on however, many people stayed out, blaring music and cruising in cars outside North Foster Drive, in what one participant called an “outdoor wake.”
That atmosphere held true on Saturday night. About a thousand people including small children congregated, playing music, holding signs and urging passing cars to honk.
Some vehicle passengers stuck their bodies out of sun roofs, dancing and jutting their fists in the air.
On Friday night for the first time some people upset about Sterling’s killing took their protests to Baton Rouge police headquarters, with a group of about 300 protesters assembled. Some said they wanted to take their complaints about how officers treat people in the black community more directly to police.
During the hourslong demonstration on Friday police assembled in riot gear as protesters at times moved onto busy Airline Highway. The police set up barricades, facing off with protesters to keep them out of the street. A few people were arrested, but the standoff was largely peaceful. Around midnight, some protesters decided to move down Airline, resulting in more confrontations with police and more people being arrested.
In one incident on Friday, an officer appeared to draw his handgun and pointed it at protesters before reholstering it, something captured in a cellphone video by a reporter for The Advocate.
The officer drew his gun after protesters pleaded with police not to arrest the girl, then tugged her away from police. No other law enforcement arrived until about a minute and a half later, when a number of squad cars arrived.
Asked about the officer pulling his gun on Saturday, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said that incident is under review, and if it turns out that an officer pointed a handgun at protesters simply to urge them to disperse, that he would not support those actions.
“These officers are on edge. They’re scared just like the public is. But we don’t condone that, and it has been addressed,” he said.
Dabadie said he did not immediately know the officer’s name. But he said if the lawman used the weapon merely to make protesters move out of the way, “That would not be normal.”
Dabadie said those arrested late Friday and early Saturday at a protest outside police headquarters after the police killing of Sterling had every opportunity to avoid being detained.
“We gave them multiple warnings. We had some city leaders out there, also, begging them not to get in the streets,” he said while walking out of a morning briefing with other law enforcement officials. “We can’t afford for Airline Highway to get blocked, and we definitely don’t want anybody to get hurt.”
There were 30 protesters arrested and booked into Parish Prison on Friday night or Saturday morning, according to records from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, which runs the lockup.
All of those arrested were from Baton Rouge except two from Denham Springs and one from Prairieville, said Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks. Most face counts of obstructing a highway, while three are accused of inciting a riot and one is accused of battery on a police officer in addition to other counts, the records show.
Dabadie said his officers are tired and are taking all precautions in the wake of a sniper killing of five officers at a rally in Dallas this past week. Those officers were killed by what officials have said they be a lone gunman as they guarded a peaceful protest in part honoring Sterling and denouncing his death.
“They’re working very long hours. The heat is playing a role also,” he said. “This 95-, 100-degree heat takes its toll when you have an officer fully geared out.”
At a mid-afternoon rally outside the Triple S store, community activist Arthur “Silky Slim” Reed warned that if East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden did not resign within 72 hours, protests would not remain peaceful. He called for onlookers to picket Holden’s home, though several hours later, none had arrived.
Holden was at his home Saturday afternoon under guard from several police officers and said he would not run from protesters, but he didn’t plan to address them either.
Quiet BLM day. Sounds like the police were very restrained.
Ask all the Fallen Officers families and murder victims families about their life long nightmares!
April 11, 1989 my world was rocked hard and changed forever, and I still have nightmares!
As the mother of a slow developing 16 year old son by the calendar (actual physical/mental age was 12) who was ambushed on his way home from school, beaten to death with a 2 ft section of fence post less than a block from our home, by a sociopath who wanted the jollies to see what it felt like to kill, went and bragged to his friends what he’d done dragged them to the murder site he was so proud of what he’d done, watched the Police investigate, then ran when some one pointed him out, got caught, and spent 2 years going through the INJUSTICE SYSTEM, only to have M1 plea bargained with out my permission down to M2, given a very light 20 yr sentence. TEN MONTHS later I fought the first of 6 parole hearings at my expense both in health and monetary. He maxed out his not so good built into state law “good behavior time” and now walks the streets of Tennessee a free man. BTW he was a local bully and petty drug dealer to boot.
You can’t cure a sociopath.