Baton Rouge police will fire officer who shot Alton Sterling

Police in Baton Rouge, La., announced Friday night that they will fire officer Blane Salamoni for violating department policies during the July 2016 fatal shooting of Alton Sterling.

The announcement came three days after prosecutors announced Salamoni and fellow Officer Howie Lake would not face criminal charges for the shooting, which came at a time of intense national scrutiny of police use of force and prompted massive local protests. Lake, the department announced Friday, will be suspended for three days.

Police Chief Murphy Paul said in a news conference Friday that Salamoni had violated the department’s “training and organizational” standards. Earlier this week Salamoni’s attorney told The Washington Post that the officer was expecting to be fired, and was already preparing his appeal.

“Our police officers are held to a higher standard,” Paul said.

As it announced Salamoni’s firing the department also released new, graphic video of the confrontation that led to Sterling’s death captured by the body camera Salamoni was wearing.

While the department had initially claimed that the officer’s camera had fallen off and not captured relevant video, the video released Friday shows Salamoni arriving on the scene and immediately shouting profanities at Sterling and threatening to shoot him in the head.

“What I did, sir?” Sterling responds at one point.

“Don’t move or I’ll shoot your f------ a--, b----!” Salamoni replies. “Put your f------ hands on the car or I’m going to shoot your f------ head!”