Police Will Not Be Charged For Alton Sterling's Death

Two Baton Rouge police officers will not face charges in connection with the shooting death of Alton Sterling in June 2016. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said that after a lengthy investigation it was determined that the officers' actions were "well-founded and reasonable." The decision comes ten months after the Justice Department concluded that there was “insufficient” evidence to bring federal charges against the officers. 

Cell phone video of the shooting death of Sterling sparked widespread protests which resulted in the arrests of around 200 people. In the video, Sterling was pinned to the ground by one officer when the second officer opened fire, shooting him three times. When Sterling started to move, he fired three more shots. Police said they believed he was reaching for a gun when he was shot. They recovered a loaded revolver in his pocket. Sterling was legally prohibited from owning a gun because he was a convicted felon. 

Sterling's aunt, Veda Washington-Abusaleh was one of the family members who met with Landry before the decision not to charge the officers was made public. She was in tears after the meeting and told The Times-Picayune that authorities told her that "what happened to Alton was justifiable."

"They said they didn't find anything," she said. "They said it was justifiable, what happened to Alton was justifiable."

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