You’ve told Alton Sterling’s past records. Now stop ignoring the officers’ disturbing use of force, deep family ties

Posted by Jozef Syndicate on July 14, 2016 · 21 Comments 

Over the past week, media outlets have made a gratuitous effort to discredit Alton Sterling amid the highly controversial investigation surrounding his untimely death, but have failed to lend the same critical eye into the pasts of the police officers who killed him. 

The riveting cell phone video, which captured his harrowing final moments, has shocked social media users across the world. But, despite the blatant disregard for Alton Sterling’s Constitutional rights and the evident police brutality he suffered at the hands of Baton Rouge police officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, news outlets have conducted investigations of their own to uncover the blemishes on Sterling’s record.

Howie Lake II

Instead of focusing on his death, news outlets have only highlighted his indiscretions, which have nothing to do with the circumstances that led to his gut-wrenching death. But, there’s another interesting side to this story and you probably won’t hear about it from mainstream media outlets. 

Apparently, the officers who fired six fatal shots into Alton Sterling’s chest and back, have quite a history with the Baton Rouge Police Department. In fact, Salamoni’s history far surpasses his four years with the department, which raises speculation about whether or not the investigation will be conducted from an unbiased perspective.

It has been revealed that the name Salamoni carries an esteemed level of respect throughout the law enforcement agency. Blane’s father, Capt. Noel Salamoni, is one of six commanders under Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. and a former leader of the police union.

Blane Salamoni

While most would automatically assume Capt. Salamoni’s active status to be a conflict of interest, there’s actually more. His mother, Melissa Salamoni also served as a Baton Rouge police for 32 years before retiring in June of 2015. 

Over the years, she’s received numerous accolades, including 20 letters of recommendation throughout her career. Last year, Blane’s wife, Allison Salamoni was also honored by Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden and named EMT of the Year. It has even been mentioned that one of his grandparents were also police officers for BRPD. The Salamoni family has a longstanding friendship with Holden and District Attorney Hillar Moore who recused himself from the shooting investigation due to this conflict of interest. (Remember at a press conference early last week, Moore said the officers were warranted in shooting Sterling. “The officers feel they were completely justified,” he said. before it was announced that Lake and Salamoni would be on paid, administrative leave.)

Ironically, local news outlets have failed to highlight Salamoni’s family history with the law enforcement agency and they’ve glanced over his record while on the force. So, let me share a few facts.

Over the past four years, numerous complaints have been filed against the 28-year-old officer. The vast majority of the complaints against centered around use of force. 

A report published by The Advocate offered a synopsis of a 660-page report detailing five years of complaints filed against both Salmon and Lake. The most recent incident occurred on June 16, 2015. Salamoni was accused of “improperly carrying out orders and use of force.” Then, on August 5, 2015, less than two months after the previous incident, Salamoni was reported again for use of force. According to the report, he’d been involved in a physical encounter with a suspect who Salamoni said attempted to take his taser. He reportedly struck the suspect in the head several times leaving him with a closed head injury. The other two complaints, which were filed earlier in his career, involved “damaging department equipment and carrying out orders (vehicle pursuit).” Lake, who has been on the force for three years, also received two complaints for use of force and this is not the first time Lake has been placed on administrative leave. He was one of six officers who shot 28-year-old Kevin Knight in 2014. The following year, however, Lake won a “life saving” award according to the department’s Facebook page.

If Lake’s and Salamoni’s past indiscretions are any indicator of their interactions with alleged suspects, use of force may be a plausible argument that could explain what may have led to Alton Sterling’s death. Salamoni’s complaint history and deep-rooted connection to the police department should seem quite alarming to anyone hoping for a fair case. 

While local officials were successful with their demands for the investigation to be conducted by an external agency, the series of events that took place immediately after Alton Sterling’s death still raise questions about whether all evidence will be included in the investigation. According to Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the Triple S Food Mart where Alton was killed, Salamoni and Lake confiscated the convenience store surveillance footage without his consent or a search warrant. Numerous reports have also revealed that Muflahi was detained in the back of a police car for hours while the officers searched his store. 

Were they making sure they covered their tracks so no possible incriminating evidence could be found and used against them? Its been longer than a week since Alton Sterling was killed, and the surveillance footage still has yet to be released as Salamoni and Lake remain on administrative leave with pay. 

With each passing day, the tension has grown as protesters are demanding answers. But, unfortunately, it seems even Gov. John Bel Edwards has spoken out in favor of the Baton Rouge Police Department. The officers are supposed to be employed to serve and protect the public, but it seems the laws are only structured to protect officers like Blane Salamoni and those adamant about justifying the use of militarized tactics at peaceful protests. At this point, no one really knows what the future will bring, but Blane Salamoni’s and Howie Lake II’s disturbing police history should be taken into consideration. 

By Meaghan Ellis
Jozef Syndicate columnist

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Meaghan Ellis is a Louisiana reporter and writer with more than 3,000 online articles. This column is distributed by the Jozef Syndicate. Contact her at www.meaghan-ellis.com

Filed under Baton Rouge, Legal, Louisiana, public safety · Tagged with Alton Sterling, Blane Salamoni, Howie Lake II, police shooting