Alton Sterling Police Indictment Update: Why Did It Taking So Long?
A Decision On Police Indictments Has Taken A Frustratingly Long Time In Alton Sterling’s Case
Updated March 27, 2018, 11:45 EST
No surprise, Louisiana’s district attorney decided not to indict the officers who killed Alton Sterling.
Original Story:
Why has it taken so long? Louisiana’s attorney general plans finally to give an update on whether to indict the White police officers who killed Alton Sterling back in July 2016.
See Also: Alton Sterling’s Children File Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Attorney General Jeff Landry will meet privately with Sterling’s relatives on Tuesday to inform them on whether he will charge the two Baton Rouge cops. Afterward, he’s expected to give a public statement on his office’s investigation into the shooting that sparked angry protests, the Associated Press reported.
This comes as activists in Sacramento are putting pressure on District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert to make a swift decision to indict the police officers who killed Stephon Clark, who was unarmed when cops fired at him at least 20 times on March 18. Black Lives Matter activists announced Tuesday that they will hold rallies this week outside her office, and the local NAACP has asked the U.S. Justice Department to launch a federal investigation into the shooting.
Shubert’s office is “in the process of setting up a meeting” with the NAACP, according to the Sacramento Bee.
“We are confident in our ability to fairly and ethically review law enforcement use of force cases in Sacramento County. At the same time, we are open to an independent oversight or evaluation by appropriate state or federal agencies if such assessment would enhance public confidence in the ultimate outcome,” Schubert’s spokeswoman stated.
However, Schubert, who is white, has a questionable past when it comes to prosecuting police who kill Black men. At the same time, a federal investigation is no guarantee that a decision on whether to prosecute the police will come quickly.
That’s painfully clear in Sterling’s case. Federal authorities opened a civil rights investigation shortly after the shooting and released its findings in May 2017—nearly a year later.
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A Decision On Police Indictments Has Taken A Frustratingly Long Time In Alton Sterling’s Case was originally published on newsone.com
