Outrage after black man shot by two white cops again ..

I watched the video, i don't understand why they had to shoot him ? He wasn't doing anything to threaten them ? I dont' know why he had a gun if he was just selling DVD's, but he did not seem like he was resisting in this video ? Obviously this has created quite an outrage. Link to video below ..

You be the judge ..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/06/video-captures-white-baton-rouge-police-officer-fatally-shooting-black-man-sparking-outrage/

Things that stand out for me:

In defense of the police:

-The police were called because it is alleged Alton pointed a gun at someone and threatened them

-Alton was not complying with their lawful orders

-The police officers (after getting him to the ground) noticed a gun, and you can also hear one of the officers say he was going for it just before he was shot

-A gun was recovered from Alton's body

-Alton had a long rap sheet, including crimes such as battery, drug possession, domestic abuse, and some kind of sex crime as well. He was on probation and was it was not legal for him to be carrying a firearm.

Against the police:

-While it does show Alton not complying and resisting somewhat, the altercation did not appear to be that serious

-The video footage does not show Alton going for his gun, though a car does obstruct the view partially

-Both police officer's body cams were not working, they claimed both of them fell off during the altercation

-Police also confiscated the convenience store surveillance video and have so far not released it

I don't see why there would be so many cops present if he wasn't resisting. That's the commonality in almost all of these cop shooting videos the defiance and resistance. I'm not saying cops are right all the time or even most of the time (they are probably not), but honestly at the time of the confrontation is NOT a good time to stand up for yourself or fight back. Do what the cops tell you at the time, then hire a lawyer sue the shit of the city/county/state/fed and maybe even getting the cops responsible fired. You can swallow your pride for a few minutes then end up back on top vindicated.

For the love of god can we PLEASE not make this guy out to be some martyr that he isn't. As always I'l wait for more news to come out, however preliminary reports already say he was on probation and was in the possession of a fire arm. While I don't think simple crimes give police to be judge/jury/executioner its moments like these where the deceased has always put themselves in a situation allowing this to happen.

In many instances you have to act on instinct and it is involuntary in the heat of the moment. It is easy to parse an incident after it is over because you have all the time in the world to do so which you don't have at the time of the incident.

yup. a fight with a cop is not one you are going to win at the time of the arrest

Yes, lots of why's need to be released. There is obviously more to this story, and that is what the community is waiting for. There was video from their police car, and from the store clerk, but it was confiscated. When they break it down it will be what everyone is waiting for.

Unfortunately the video doesn't show much of anything needed to form an intelligent opinion. I think (and I stress think) the video showed one of the cops tackling the guy either over the hood, on the hood or whatever. Quite honestly, the poor quality had me wondering if the black guy was on his back or on his chest.

One thing I can say with certainty is how the cops will be the bad guy(s) and the black guy will be the innocent saint.......before any relevant details are revealed.

Looks like the Justice Department has opened up a civil rights investigation about this incident.

Damn. That looked brutal. While people most certainly shouldn't resist being arrested this shooting looked completely unnecessary. I'm interested in hearing more on why this officer found it necessary to shoot him point blank like that.

The thing that is bothering me the most is that neither body cameras worked. I don't buy that. And they confiscated the surveillance tape. They released a statement that contradicts the video, they didn't know the video was out there. This is not the way I like to see the police department conducting itself. This is not a fascist police state and the police are not above the law. This seems all too common. Regardless of whether it turns out they had the need to kill him or not they have still acted very badly and I believe are trying to cover up evidence.

Ain't gonna pass any judgement either way at this point, If he had a gun and did reach for it then it's understandable the cops reacted, However if you've brought a person to the ground like that then aren't you supposed to ensure he cannot reach for anything?

Need more info.

Yeah, what a tragedy. A gangbanging sociopathic violent child molesting multiple felon can't even point his gun at people in a parking lot without getting hassled by the raciss pigs.

This has become a farce.

He had a gun. He didn't surrender. He has a long history of violence and it is no cops duty to die wearing kid gloves.

I wonder if black people shot white police all time it would matter?.

lolol

Hopefully the security footage clears everything up, but it's kind of sketchy that both of their body cams were off.

All cops should go on strike. They're so demonized now and the criminals are heroes. Lets see how fast people are to turn around to beg for them to come back.

Especially when they are disarmed and have no means of protection on their own. It boggles my mind why minorities especially those in underprivileged poor neighborhoods often perceive gun rights to be an issue exclusive to white people to fight for. If anything gun control affects them negatively more than anyone else, since cops are either incapable or reluctant to help if they are in trouble in their home or neighborhood.

Yup.

All the time huh?

Can't really tell much from that video though the cops did mention he had a gun......can't see if he was trying to get one or not from that video. Never understand though why people resist. You don't win that battle.

@n64dd: Not surprising you two fools agree with each other.

Cant make a clear judgement, on one hand h looked handled but on the other why in Gods name would he fight. One thing I will say is becareful when it comes to making these judgements based on character. That is where these cases spiral out of control. The Trayvon Martincase skyrocketed out of control when people tried to make it a race issue and paint Trayvon as a thug and Zimmerman as some upstanding citizen who took the law in his own hand.

complying with an officer's commands isnt hard and pulling a gun on them isnt smart.

The media (and many people) did the exact opposite of what you wrote.

People tend to jump to conclusions and I could see that being the case IF there was a decent video of the incident. Regardless, those with agendas are already bein exposed.

Someone called the cops because he pointed a gun at someone. He doesn't have a permit either and was about to get his 3rd strike.

Here's a second video, different angle. I still can't tell anything ? Graphic content

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/new-alton-sterling-video-shows-didn-pull-gun-police-article-1.2701540?utm_content=buffera26a6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

The fuzz are out of control.

The question that has to be answered, if this was me(anyone without a badge) killing a man because I thought they were reaching for their gun after being tackled and subdued, would I be charged with at least manslaughter?

Why is this shit different for the cops? Why can the pigs destroy evidence and not face repercussions? I've said it before, and I'll say it again, gun control only if the cops have to follow the same regulations.

@LexLas: Ok...... Now how many black people killed other black people the same day?

Well, next time I feel threatened, I'll give you a call. Hopefully you'll be there to risk your life for me.

@joehult: go home, you're drunk.

First you need to explain why you tackled and subdued an individual.

@Solaryellow: he stole my wallet.

@joehult: Valid. I tackle them too. Then curb stomp them.

He stole your wallet at which point you tackled him and then shot him when you reasonably (I added that word) believed he was reaching for a firearm with which to kill you? That sounds as if you reacted in a way similar to how others would react.

The outcomes of multiple US court rulings and formal legal precedents have established a standard whereby any US police officer involved in a shooting need only convince a judge or jury that he BELIEVED that his life MIGHT be in danger in order to win complete exoneration from conviction.

Suppose that a US police officer were to see a young mother walking towards him with an infant in a perambulator. The officer could pull out his pistol, switch it to fully automatic, fire dozens of rounds into both the mother and the pram and still expect to get off scot free.

All he would have to do is convince the jury that the mother appeared to be behaving suspiciously and that he feared that the mother might have had a bomb in the pram.

Legal precedent would then compel the jury to find the shooting totally justifiable.

Understandable. Cops were probably blinded and disorientated by the bling in that man's mouth.

A lot of things were said then(people love to pick sides), but zimmerman's name didnt go to the wolves until after the trial and everyone realized he is a shit head.

I'm just sick of the double standard. The police, and prosecutors, are constantly getting away with withholding evidence, destroying evidence, using "faulty" cameras, etc. if it was anyone else destroying a video on their iPhone, or erasing the history on their web browser, the prosecutor would add an additional charge of tampering with evidence. But the cops can have two faulty cameras at the same time, or a camera that just happen to not be working the day Freddie Gray broke his neck, and no one gives a shit? Fair needs to be fair, if a cop opens fire, he needs to scrutinized the exact same as anyone else.

@joehult: I feel you, unfortunately some people are too extreme on this issue. Its either all cops are good or you are a police hater.

Are you joking? They were trashing him as some racist stalker from day 1, even going so far as to purposely edit/cut 911 audio to make him sound like a racist. They also were posting old 14 year photos of Martin constantly making him into some boy-angel.

I'd to see more diversity in the people shot by police - H.

I don't blame the cops for shooting him. He should have not moved in the slightest, I wouldn't have. It's common sense to give up and let the cops take you away. Instead the guy had to give off this vibe that he wants to resist arrest and who knows what else. Natural selection.

While you should be smart and try to comply with the police, I dont think that moving in the slightest should be an indication for being shot.

Something is surely ****ed up when two cops cannot restrain one man, after tackling him to the ground. For god sakes, who is teaching these wannabe tough guys?! Learn some goddamn jiu jitsu, and control the wrists!! Seriously, in a situation like that, you should not be given power like a policeman does if you are that inept in self defense and pacification technique. Shameful.

Can't say I feel bad for the guy considering he resisted (And CONTINUED to resist even when the cops had guns drawn out on him) but I think the officers did a piss poor job trying to arrest him. Yeah the guy is big but this isn't the same case as Michael Brown where its one officer trying to handle a heavy set guy resisting arrest. There were 2 of them and it seemed like the one who pulled out his gun simply had a itchy trigger finger. He clearly didn't look like he was trying to assess the situation with his own eyes and confirm that the guy had a gun....