Alton Sterling was a 37-year-old black man who was shot to death in a confrontation outside a convenience store with police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana early on the morning of July 5.
His death has sparked outrage, protests, and an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.
The officers’ handling of the confrontation has come under intense scrutiny from the public, and could lead to criminal charges. The debate over the officers’ conduct is likely to include discussion of Sterling’s criminal record and whether it is at all relevant when assessing the officers’ conduct. The legal questions in the case will focus on what happened in the confrontation between Sterling and the officers right before he was shot. Sterling’s case file does provide a fuller biography of the man, however.
A review of court records by Heavy shows that Sterling was well known to Baton Rouge police, although the two officers involved in the shooting -- Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II -- are not mentioned in documents pertaining to Sterling. You can read all of Sterling’s Baton Rouge criminal case details here:
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