The US justice department has opened a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of a black man by the Baton Rouge police, as Louisiana's governor appealed to a city angered by the killing to remain calm.
Two officers were arresting Alton B Sterling (37) on Tuesday, and had him pinned to the ground when at least one of them shot him. The incident was partially captured on video. The shooting prompted protests, and relatives of Sterling, civic leaders and state lawmakers demanded an investigation independent of the Baton Rouge police.
“I have full confidence that this matter will be investigated thoroughly, impartially and professionally,” Gov John Bel Edwards said. “I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least.”
The justice department’s civil rights division, the FBI and the US attorney’s office in Baton Rouge are conducting the investigation, the department said. Earlier, officials and family members said they wanted to know why Sterling had been shot and killed outside a store where he was selling CDs.
At 12:35am on Tuesday, police officers went to the Triple S Food Mart on North Foster Drive in response to a call about a man selling CDs who was said to have threatened someone with a gun, the police department has said.
A video shot on a phone by a bystander, which was released later in the day, showed Mr Sterling tackled by a police officer. He is then held to the ground by two officers, and one appears to hold a gun above Mr Sterling’s chest.
At one point someone on the video can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun! Gun!” and one officer can be seen pulling his weapon. After some shouting, what sounds like gunshots can be heard and the camera shifts away.
Then more shots can be heard. The police have not said whether Mr Sterling had a gun, though there have been reports that they recovered one from him.
William Clark, coroner of East Baton Rouge Parish said that Mr Sterling had died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back.
– (New York Times service)