Police are preparing for the possibility of more protests in Baton Rouge once the Justice Department finishes investigating the shooting death of a black man by police this summer.
As The Associated Press reports, Gov. John Bel Edwards hosted a meeting today of law enforcement officials, community activists and religious leaders to discuss efforts to improve relations between police and the public following the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in July.
Edwards said his office doesn’t know when the Justice Department will conclude its investigation of Sterling’s shooting or whether it could result in any criminal charges.
In October, U.S. Attorney Walt Green said federal authorities had dedicated hundreds of hours to investigating the shooting that led to Sterling’s death and were “committed to taking all necessary steps to reach a just result based solely on the facts and the law.” But Green didn’t give a timetable for announcing a decision.
Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. says police won’t allow any protests to turn “violent, destructive or unlawful” but will respond “as least aggressively as we can.”
“Our stance is going to continue to be as long as you’re nonviolent, as long as you’re following the law, people will have the ability to protest and say what they want to say,” Dabadie says.
Police arrested nearly 200 protesters in Baton Rouge after the July 5 shooting of Sterling outside a convenience store by two white police officers.
The mass arrests of Baton Rouge protesters led to a pair of federal lawsuits that accused police of using excessive force and of violating protesters’ civil rights.
If more protests break out after the Justice Department concludes its investigation, State Police Col. Mike Edmonson says officers will help people protest peacefully “to make sure that their voices are heard.”
“We’re going to go where they are, and we’re going to work with them. But when it gets out of hand, we’re going to react,” Edmonson says.
