Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul says he will have a decision by Friday on the fate of the two Baton Rouge Police officers—Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II—involved in the July 2016 shooting death of Alton Sterling.
Following Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s morning announcement that the state will not bring criminal charges against the officers, Paul said his department will move swiftly to conduct and conclude an administrative hearing on the officers’ conduct and whether either violated department policy during the encounter that resulted in Sterling’s death outside the Triple S Food Mart on North Foster Drive.
Paul says his office has already been in touch with the officers’ attorneys to schedule a disciplinary hearing for one day this week and that his goal is to conclude it by Friday, after which time he will release to the public all video and audio tapes that have been kept under wraps as evidence since the shooting 20 months ago.
“This cloud that is over our community has to come to a conclusion,” said Paul, at a press conference with Mayor Sharon Weston Broome at City Hall.
The measured tone of Paul and Broome stood in stark contrast to that of the rancorous and emotional press conference with members of Sterling’s family and their attorneys that had concluded just moments earlier on the steps of the state office building housing the attorney general’s office.
Community activist Arthur “Silky Slim” Reed accused the police department of systemic racism in a profanity-laced rant that was recorded and broadcast live by local and national media.
Though Landry’s decision was not unexpected, the Sterling family is upset by what they say was a biased characterization of the events surrounding Sterling’s death as well as Landry’s decision not to call a grand jury during his 10-month investigation into the incident.
Rather than calling for protests and demonstrations, however, they vowed to take their fight to the ballot box, saying they will work to oust those in power who have denied them justice.
“This was a political decision,” said attorney L. Chris Stewart, directing his message to elected officials. “So we will hold you politically responsible if you aren’t going to stand up.”
As a practical matter, state Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, who has been an advocate and ad hoc spokesperson for the Sterling family, said that means launching voter registration drives “like you’ve never seen before” and getting people to the polls on election day.
“We don’t need burning buildings and burning cars,” Marcelle said. “We need burning people with burning hearts who want to make change and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens.”
More immediately, attorneys for the family said they are pressing forward with a civil suit against the officers that will show the alleged conduct of Salamoni and Lake was part of a systemic attitude within the BRPD that fostered police brutality.
“This wasn’t a one-time situation,” said attorney Mike Gladden. “These guys had an attitude where they thought they could be bullies, where they thought they could take the life of a black man.”
