Baton Rouge Officers Will Not Be Charged in the Fatal Shooting of Alton Sterling

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced the decision Tuesday.

Demonstrators protest the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling
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Image via Getty/Joshua Lott

Demonstrators protest the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling

The two Baton Rouge police officers involved in the 2016 fatal shooting of Alton Sterlingwill not be chargedLouisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said that the investigation determined the officers acted in a "reasonable and justifiable manner."

Landry met with Sterling's family on Tuesday morning before he made the announcement. Just 10 months earlier, federal prosecutors came to the conclusion that they would not file civil rights charges against the two officers. 

The attorneys of Sterling's family called this decision biased. They asked the public to hold the attorney general accountable for his decision. Sterling's family attorney Chris Stewart said, "It takes courage ... to fight for justice; we didn't see that in this situation." He continued, "But that's fine, because ... we know what the repercussion is: Getting you out of office."

Sterling's aunt Veda Washington-Abusaleh said after meeting with Landry, "They're not going to bring charges on anybody. Why would they do that? This is white America." CNN reported his family was "visibly upset" after hearing the news.

Sterling was shot and killed by one of two police officers on July 5, 2016. The police were responding to a call from a homeless man about a man with a gun. The homeless man claimed Sterling showed him the weapon after asking him for money. Police claimed Sterling was shot when he was reaching for a gun after they pinned him to the ground outside of a convenience store. Cell phone video footage of the incident showed Sterling being pinned before he was shot. 

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