Advertisement

US protests after police shooting of black man in Louisiana
A road junction near the scene of the shooting was briefly blocked by protesters

US protests after police shooting of black man in Louisiana

Protests have taken place in the US state of Louisiana after a video emerged appearing to show two white police officers holding down and shooting dead a black man. 

The incident took place in the state capital, Baton Rouge, on Tuesday after reports of a man threatening people with a gun outside a shop.

A post-mortem examination showed the victim, Alton Sterling, 37, died of gunshot wounds to the chest and back. 

Protesters later blocked nearby roads.

The crowd of about 200 people was moved on by police but organisers say they would reassemble in front of City Hall later. 

The incident comes amid heightened tension in the US over the deaths of African-American men at the hands of police.

There are more than 1,000 deadly shootings by police in the US each year, and those killed are disproportionately black Americans.

Police spokesman Cpl L'Jean McKneely said the officers had been called in after reports that a man selling CDs outside a convenience store had threatened someone with a gun. 

Mr Sterling, a father of five, died at the scene.

Cpl McKneely said that the two officers involved had been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

The short mobile phone footage that circulated on social media and on local news outlets hours after the shooting, shows two police officers wrestling a man in a red shirt to the floor. 

The man struggles and one of the officers pins his arm to the floor with his knee and then appears to pull out his gun and point it at the man. 

A voice is heard shouting, "He's got a gun. Gun." Then shots ring out and the camera is pulled away. 

Someone - apparently bystander - can be heard saying "Oh my God", followed by another asking, "They shot him?" She replies: "Yes."

Abdul Muflahi, who owns a shop where the incident took place, told WAFB TV station that one officer had used a stun gun on the man but a struggle then ensued with the second officer. He said that the first officer then shot the man "four to six times".

Mr Muflahi said the man did not appear to have a gun in his hand during the altercation although he saw officers remove a gun from the man's pocket following the shooting. Police could not confirm his account.

Police said both officers had been wearing body cameras and the police car had a dashboard camera. Mr Muflahi told local media that police also took surveillance footage from his shop.

Flowers and messages have been left at the scene of the shooting.

Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond said in a statement that the shooting was "a tragedy", adding that the family of the victim and residents of Baton Rouge "deserve answers, and that is what we will seek".

Credit: BBC

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |