Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul announced on Friday that officer Blane Salamoni, the man who shot and killed Alton Sterling, has been fired by the police department. Salamoni had been on administrative leave prior to his firing.
Paul said he reached this decision "based on the actions of the officers" in the incident. “These actions were not minor deviations from policy, as they contributed to the outcome to the death of another human being," he said, according to ABC News. Meanwhile, Howie Lake II, the other officer involved in the shooting, has been suspended without pay for three days.
This announcement comes just days after Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry determined that both officers would not be charged after acting in a "reasonable and justifiable manner." Video of the incident outside of a convenience store appears to show Sterling pinned down and restrained around the time when the officers allegedly say he claimed to have a gun, and proceeded to shoot him multiple times in the back.
Sterling's family attorney Chris Stewart responded to what he called a “biased” ruling, saying, “But that's fine, because ... we know what the repercussion is: Getting you out of office." If Salamoni’s repercussion was getting fired, then that just doesn’t add up. Salamoni can probably get another job down the road. The Sterling family is not getting Alton back.
