Justice Department says no federal charges against cops in death of Baton Rouge man

The Department of Justice said Wednesday that it will not bring federal charges against white police officers involved in the high-profile shooting of a black man last year in Baton Rouge, La., that had ignited protests around the country over the deaths of AfricanAmericans at the hands of police officers.

“All of the prosecutors and agents involved in this case have come to the conclusion that insufficient evidence exists to charge either officer with a federal crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson, ending a 10-month federal investigation into the death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling.

While no federal civil rights charges will be filed, Amundson said a “state investigation will follow,” leaving open the possibility of charges in Louisiana against the officers.

The inquiry sought to determine if officers had violated Sterling’s civil rights and whether the shooting was justified. It’s the first investigation into a high-profile police shooting to be completed in the Trump administration under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sterling was shot to death July 5 after police responded to a 911 call reporting a man making a threat with a gun in front of a market. Witness and police accounts differed on whether Sterling threatened officers and if he reached for a gun. A focal point of the investigation hinged on whether Sterling had threatened the officers with a gun or if the officers perceived a threat that led them to fire six bullets into his body. The Department of Justice and the FBI launched the inquiry two days after his death.

Amundson said officers recovered a .38-caliber revolver loaded with six bullets from Sterling’s right pocket after a 90-second altercation. He cited videos released at the time of the shooting in which officers shout that Sterling has a gun before shooting him. Justice Department officials said they reviewed cellphone, surveillance, body camera and dash cam videos. Police said at the time of the shooting that the officers’ body cameras had fallen off before the shooting.

Amundson said it was unclear from the investigation if Sterling had reached for the gun. But he said that was not enough to bring charges against the officers.

“We cannot establish that Mr. Sterling was not reaching for a gun or more accurately that officers did not believe he was reaching for a gun,” he said.

“To prove a federal criminal civil rights violation, you have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers acted unreasonably and willfully, that is they acted with a specific intent to do something that the law forbids,” Amundson said.

“Being reckless, escalating a situation that may have been de-escalated — those things are not a basis under the law for a federal civil rights prosecution,” he said.

“Given the totality of the circumstances — that the officers had been fighting with Sterling and had attempted less-thanlethal methods of control; that they knew Sterling had a weapon; that Sterling had reportedly brandished a gun at another person; and that Sterling was much larger and stronger than either officer, the department cannot prove either that the shots were unconstitutional or that they were willful,” the department added in a statement.

Amundson said investigators determined that the officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, “were not unreasonable.” Still, he said, “experts criticized aspects of the officers’ technique.”

He also confirmed earlier reports that Salamoni, who had been on the force for three years, shot Sterling. The officers were put on leave after the shooting.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said his office would investigate the shooting, but did not provide details.

“At this time, and due to the nature of their investigation, my office has not been privy to any investigative materials created and collected by the USDOJ. Therefore, I cannot and will not comment on their findings beyond that they were made after an exhaustive investigation and a thorough review of the evidence,” Landry said in a statement.

Chris Stewart, a lawyer who represents the Sterling family, said the “actions of the officers that night were absolutely heinous.”

Officials from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the New Orleans field office for the FBI joined in Wednesday’s announcement, which had been the subject of rumors that had left Baton Rouge on edge for more than a week. Local politicians and Sterling’s family members had complained that the Justice Department had not given them advance warning of its decision.

“I’m still emotionally messed up because things I heard in this meeting today ... horrible,” said Sterling’s aunt, Sandra Sterling, who said she rejected the department’s findings that were presented to the family on Wednesday. She cried as she described learning from federal officials that Salamoni pointed a gun at Sterling’s head and said he would “kill you.”

The Justice Department’s report summary said the officer pointed the gun at Sterling’s head when he did not comply with commands to put his hands on the hood of a car after police showed up. It said Sterling then put his hands on the hood and moved them, prompting Lake to shoot him twice with a stun gun before Salamoni tackled Sterling to the ground. But the report did not include the “kill you” quote from Salamoni, which Sterling family lawyers said is documented in unreleased video and audio.

“What we saw on the news was nothing compared to what you all are going to see . ... It’s so much worse to come,” she said.

The decision to not bring federal charges was reported Tuesday by several news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times. Small groups of protesters had gathered to demonstrate against the decision that night. Baton Rogue police reported three arrests, and the city was bracing for more demonstrations after Amundson’s announcement.