6. Sterling’s Son Broke Down Crying During an Emotional Press Conference Saying ‘I Want My Daddy’
The family of Alton Sterling, the 37-year-old man fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in an incident caught on video by a witness, held an emotional press conference Wednesday morning to call for justice. You can watch video of the press conference above.
During the press conference, Sterling’s son, Cameron, one of his five children, broke down in tears, saying “I want my daddy!,” as his mother spoke.
“He had to watch this as this was put all over the outlets,” his mother, Quinyetta McMillon, told reporters. “As a mother I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father.”
Video: Son of #AltonSterling breaks down in tears as family speaks out about Baton Rouge shooting t.co/53dz3PN4c0
The press conference was also attended by the Sterling’s aunt, Sandra Sterling, who raised him and calls him her son; the family’s attorney, Edmond Jordan, who is also a Louisiana legislator; Michael McClanahan, the president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the NAACP; State Representative C. Denise Marcelle; and Pastor Johnny Young of Heavenly Hope Ministries.
The NAACP called for Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr., to resign or be fired.
7. Protesters Have Been Gathering at the Site of the Shooting, While the Video Has Been Seen by Millions Online
A large crowd of protesters, including Sterling’s family members and friends, gathered at the scene of the shooting throughout the day Tuesday, with the group growing at night, according to reporters at the scene.
The protesters briefly shut down traffic:
North Foster shut down in front of store where #AltonSterling shot by BR police. Bkgrnd: t.co/N6CKVsh9fF
Protestors now parking in street to block traffic, raising fiats & chanting “black lives matter” #AltonSterling
Protesters stayed throughout the night Tuesday and were back Wednesday.
Traffic moving again, as protestors in street yell at drivers to come down to Baton Rouge city hall at 8am tomorrow.
Sterling’s name was trending worldwide on Twitter and on Facebook Tuesday night as the video was shared across social media.
“All I want is justice for my child,” his aunt, Sandra Sterling, who raised him, told the Washington Post. “I want the same treatment y’all are giving that person in Marksville that killed that little white baby. I want that same kind of justice.”
She was referencing the November 2015 shooting of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis, which led to murder charges against Marksville police officers Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford. The officers in that case are black and the victim is white.
“They went to jail and it was all over the world,” Sandra Sterling told the Post. “I want my son to be the same way because he was important, too.”
8. One of the Officers Involved in the Shooting Was Placed on Leave in 2014 After Shooting a Suspect
Officer Howie Lake II. (Facebook)
Officer Howie Lake II is three-year veteran of the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Lake, 28, was put on administrative leave in 2014 after he was one of six officers who shot a 28-year-old man, Kevin Knight, WAFB-TV reported at the time. Knight survived the shooting.
According to police, the officers shot Knight after he fired at them.
Read more about Officer Lake at the link below:
9. The Other Officer Is a 3rd-Generation Cop Whose Father Is a High-Ranking Commander & Whose Mother Recently Retired as a Captain
Blane Salamoni. (Facebook)
Officer Blane Salamoni, a third generation police officer, is a four-year veteran of the Baton Rouge Police Department, authorities said.
Salamoni, 28, works in the uniform patrol division. In an 2013 story in The Advocate about Baton Rouge Police recruiting, Salamoni said being an officer is “a fun job.” He added that he particularly likes the chases and pursuits.
Salamoni said he previously worked in construction before entering the police academy. He graduated at the top of his class in 2011.
Salamoni’s father is a high-ranking member of the Baton Rouge Police Department’s command staff and was once a finalist for the city’s police chief job.
Captain Noel Salamoni is the commander of the department’s Special Operations Division, according to the city’s website. He has been with the department for more than 34 years, according to his Linkedin profile.
The elder Salamoni was a finalist for the city’s police chief position in 2013, but the current chief, Carl Dabadie Jr., was chosen instead. He is also a past president of the Baton Rouge police union.
Blane Salamoni’s mother, Melissa Salamoni, is a retired Baton Rouge police captain, according to her Linkedin profile.
Read more about Officer Salamoni at the link below:
10. Officer Salamoni’s Father-in-Law Attacked ‘Black’ Protesters, Saying They’re Using the Shooting for Their ‘Agenda’
Blane and Allison Salamoni. (Facebook)
Salamoni’s father-in-law, James Durdin, lashed out against protesters in an interview with the New York Daily News.
“It burns my you-know-what when it’s – usually the black people – that try to make an agenda out of this,” Durdin told the Daily News. “What I’d like to see is them with no police at all, so they can know what it’s like not to have them… The majority of [cops] would never be abusive. Does anyone give a you-know-what about that? We’ll have social chaos [without cops].”
Durdin said Salamoni is well-trained and followed his training.
He said it is “a dirty shame that things like this end up in the news, ‘cause there’s something going around the country and it’s anti-police.”
Salamoni and his wife, Allison Durdin Salamoni, have been married since last year. She was recently named the 2016 “EMT of the Year” by Arcadian Ambulance.