‘I am that next legacy,’ says Alton Sterling’s oldest son
Cameron Sterling
When Cameron Sterling speaks, the nation watches. In July of 2016, he grabbed the attention of protestors, political leaders, television programs, and the President of the United States with his determined words of peace and quiet demeanor. The 16-year-old admonished protestors to stay peaceful and he explained to the world why his father’s life and those lives of other unarmed, Black men killed by police were valuable.
On May 3, Baton Rouge watched Cameron, again, with anticipation when he stepped up to the microphone for another press conference. His family and local officials met with the U.S Department of Justice attorneys who were investigating the July 5, 2016, shooting death of his father, Alton Sterling, by two Baton Rouge police officers.
Alton Sterling
To the world watching, the soft-spoken young man said, “Everyday, I wake up and miss my dad, and everyday God is with us,” he said with assurance. “No matter what goes on behind those closed doors in that court., it doesn’t matter…God is there for me. I have my brothers and sisters to look after—11 of them. But guess what, I am that next legacy. I am here after my dad.”
He paused. His voice was steady. “God is with me. God is with all of us.”
His calmness was met by the family’s attorney Chris Stewart who said, “We didn’t leave the meeting defeated…We will not let rage run. It is not over! The family walked away after assuring the community that “the fight for justice would not be stopped by the DOJ inaction.”
Questions quickly rose asking what would justice look like.
Justice would be having these officers fired and the state of Louisiana charge them with murder or second-degree murder. However, according the Urban League of Louisiana, charges are filed in only one percent of fatal shootings involving police.
“There simply is not enough sufficient evidence to proceed,” said acting US Attorney Corey Amundson, but he also said the officer’s behavior—although reckless—may have been in violation of state code which Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office would have to determine. Amundson said use of force experts reviewed the case against BRPD officers Blaine Salamoni and Howie Lake II and, although they criticized the officers’ techniques, the experts still determined they could not prove that the officers behaved unreasonably and willfully.
“Being reckless is not a basis under the law for a federal civil rights prosecution,” Amundson said. Other attorneys said the officers’ use of force was beyond reasonable.
“They (DOJ officials) hands down agreed that the action of the police officers that night were outrageous were inappropriate, were not following procedure, were unexplainable but that meets the threashold of the attorney generals office which is where this case is going,” Stewart said, “In my opinion attorney general Jeff Landry has a phenomenal case against these officers. Not strong, phenomenal case. There can’t be any inaction from Jeff Landry. If you follow his history, he tries to do the right thing.”
Stewart said they learned in the meeting that Salamoni pointed a gun to Sterling’s head and said, “I will kill you, b***h.”
“We heard from them that Officer Salamoni kept instigating the situation,” Stewart said. “No police officer should conduct themselves like that…We demand that the A.G. proves that the department here has a higher standard and disapproves of the actions of the officers on that day.” He said, pointing out that Landry had persecuted other officers for excessive force earlier this year.
The Sterling case has been turned over to the Landry’s office who will evaluate all evidence, interview witnesses, and conduct internal investigation of the BRPD.
State Rep. Edward Ted James has sent letters to Landry asking him to appoint a special prosecutor. In the 10-month span, U.S. District Attorney Walt Green resigned at the request of the Trump Administration and Louisiana State Police head Mike Edmundson retired.
Their involvement in the investigation is unknown.
“We are a long way away from getting this resolved,” said Baton Rouge NAACP president Michael McClanahan. “We have got to stay vigilant; we have got to stay in constant pursuit of justice.”
According to Fatal Encounters, a national project documenting the number of deaths following incidents with police, 451 people had been killed by police since 2003.
Alexandria journalist Tony Brown, has record 13 incidents since 2003 where Black men who were unarmed were killed during incidents with local police. To him, the DOJ’s response is a pattern of systemic decision protect officers over innocent, nonviolent citizens. “This would turn out differently if the officers had been Black and the victims white,” Brown said.
For 13 years, he has been a central contact for the families of victims and has used his morning talk show “Eyes Open with Tony Brown” to vet emotions and get facts around
Tony Brown
incidents with police.
“It keeps boiling down to the officer’s use of force and whether or not they value that person’s life. We have to remember that the premise of use of force is buried in a system that thrives on inequality. Racial inequality predominately,” he said.
“What these officers did to Mr. Sterling was provocative to say the least and they should be prosecuted,” “Unfortunately, we in Louisiana have seen officers walk away too many times even when they are blatantly violent towards citizens,” Brown said, referring to his list of victims. “We can not forget the history here,” he said. According to Brown’s records, these unarmed Black men have died in Louisiana:
- Marquise Hudspeth, 25, March 15, 2003, in Shreveport.
- Edward Ned Jr, 48, Nov. 11, 2004, in Lake Charles.
- George Temple II, 24, Feb.17, 2006, in Baton Rouge
- Baron “Scooter” Pikes Jr, 21, Jan. 17, 2008, in Winnfield.
- Bernard Monroe Sr, 72, Feb. 20, 2009, in Homer.
- Richard Goss, 36, Nov. 26, 2008, in Alexandria
- Harold Phillips, 54, July 2009, in Colfax
- Robert Ricks, 23, Feb. 5, 2011, in Alexadnria.
- Victor White III, 22, March 3, 2014, in New Iberia
- Cameron Tillman, 14, Feb, 23, in Houma
- Keenan Ardoin, 24, Dec. 4, 2014, in Ville Platte.
- Michael Noel, 32, Dec 21, 2015 in St. Martin
“All of the victims were Black, all were unarmed, all were killed by police,” Brown said, who reported exclusively on six of these killings.
“With the exception of the Harold Phillips murder in Colfax, all of the killer cops were exonerated. No charges were filed,” said Brown .
Alton Sterling, 37, was shot six times at close range while held down on the ground by two Baton Rouge police officers. Sterling was selling CDs in front of a convenience store. Police were calledby someone reporting that a man was selling CDs and threatening people with a gun. Although the store manager said he did not see a gun, the officers shouted “gun” before killing Sterling.
By Candace J. Semien
Jozef Syndicate
OTHER RELATED STORIES
- Read entire DOJ decision on Alton Sterling case
- Stop ignoring officers’ disturbing use of force, deep family ties
- Americans For Blane Salmoni Facebook page surfaces
- Congressman Garrett Graves releases statement
- Urban League of Louisiana supports state investigation into Sterling Case
Jozef Syndicate 
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