In his last few minutes of life, Alton Sterling seemed completely immobile. Two Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officers had pinned him to the floor, flat on his back. But even as Sterling seemed completely unable to move, one of the police officers yelled, “He’s got a gun!” Within seconds, an officer shot Sterling, who was still pinned to the ground by the police. Sterling died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to an autopsy.
After a bystander released video of the shooting, people quickly protested in the area and voiced their anger on social media.
Several people went to the convenience store where Sterling was shot, holding up “Black Lives Matter” and “hands up, don’t shoot” signs, Maya Lau and Bryn Stole reported for the Advocate.
Alton Sterling (Photo: Facebook)
Sterling’s death is the latest in a long string of police shootings leading to outrage, particularly from the Black Lives Matter and racial justice movements against racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
To many critics, it is just another example of an issue that quickly rose to the national spotlight after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014.
Source: http://www.vox.com/
