BRPD email says cop who killed Alton Sterling was ‘borderline nuts’
24th September 2018 · 0 Comments
Attorneys representing the family of Alton Sterling, who was slain by a Baton Rouge police officer on July 5, 2016, said last week that there were warning signs that the Baton Rouge officer who fired six shots into his body was unstable and potentially dangerous.
After a Sept. 18 court hearing related to the civil lawsuit against the City of Baton Rouge and the BRPD, the attorneys released a BRPD email that described former BRPD Officer Blane Salamoni as “borderline nuts” a year before Sterling’s death.
After investigating the incident, both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office announced that they would not file charges against Officer Salamoni and his partner Howie Lake II.
On last Tuesday, Judge R. Michael Caldwell set the civil trial date for April 20, 2020.
After last Tuesday’s status conference hearing, the attorneys held a press conference and revealed a copy of an email from a BRPD training officer, who said former officer Blane Salamoni, accused of killing Sterling, was “borderline nuts.”
The attorneys said BRPD Sgt. Robert Knight, a firearms training officer, sent the email a year before Sterling’s death.
Knight was in charge of training Salamoni. In the email, Knight wrote Salamoni was “borderline nuts” after Salamoni got into a fight with an officer at the firing range.
Attorney L. Chris Stewart, one of the attorneys for Alton Sterling’s children, said attorneys have been going through documents ahead of the trial.
“What we have realized is that this was not the act of a rogue cop, this was a systematic failure by the police department,” according to Stewart during the press conference.
Stewart said attorneys will be requesting emails and text messages from city council leaders.
“We are going to litigate this case until the very end,” said attorney Michael Adams, who represents three of Sterling’s children.
“What that means is that we’re going to unearth all of the things the Baton Rouge Police Department over the last few years that show that Officer Salamoni was not well-trained. He should have not been a police officer.”
Sterling’s family announced last year they were filing a civil lawsuit against the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the Triple S Food Mart on July 5, 2016 after two officers with the Baton Rouge Police Department responded to a call of a man threatening the caller with a gun outside the store.
A BRPD body camera captured images of Officer Salamoni threatening to blow off Sterling’s head when he arrived and ultimately shooting him six times at point-blank range. As Sterling lay dying on the ground in the hot sun, Officer Salamoni could be heard hurling profanities at him.
State AG Jeff Landry viewed the same body camera footage but decided not to file state charges against the two white officers.
Landry gave employees the day off on the day he formally announced that he would not charge the two officers.
“A lot of us were not surprised,” L. Chris Stewart said after Landry’s announcement. “It takes courage and we did not see that in this case.”
Family members were seen crying and embracing one another after Landry’s announcement, WAFB reported.
With a nod to Landry’s rumored interest in running for Louisiana governor, Stewart called this a political decision and said it’s time to hold Landry accountable.
“The only thing people care about is power. This was a political decision,” he said. “So in order to respond, we will hold you politically responsible. From city council, mayor, police chief, attorney general, whoever you may be if you’re not standing up for justice.”
“These men thought they could be a bully and thought they could take this man’s life, but this is not over,” attorney Michael Adams said. “We will prove in a court of law that the actions of these officers were outrageous. They were not necessary. They exceeded all bounds of decency.”
Sandra Sterling, the aunt who raised Alton Sterling and had a stroke after he was killed, said AG Landry should be ashamed of this decision.
“I’m not crying anymore,” Sandra Sterling said. “I will get justice from a higher power.”
She added officers took an oath “to serve and protect not to serve and kill.”
Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Alton Sterling’s son, Cameron, said they will get justice.
“Yes, we did not get justice here today, but we will get justice,” McMillon explained. “We don’t hate anyone, but we just want justice.”
State legislators also weighed in on Landry’s decision not to charge the two officers.
State Sen. Regina Barrow said she’s extremely disappointed with the decision, but not surprised.
“I’m upset that he took this long to do what I believe was already the determination months ago,” she told WAFB. “My thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, who stood with the family, said this is unfair.
“Words cannot describe how disappointed I am in Jeff Landry for not doing his job,” she said. “We deserve better and we should demand better.”
“Alton Sterling was shot to death by two Baton Rouge police officers who were on top of him as he lay on the ground,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana said in a statement after state AG Landry announced his decision.
“He became the 122nd Black person to be killed by U.S. law enforcement in 2016. His death is yet another example of police brutality against people of color and our country’s systemic failure to hold law enforcement accountable for that brutality. Justice will not be served until we end this epidemic of police violence against people of color once and for all. Moving forward, we will continue to stand in solidarity with Mr. Sterling’s family and the communities most scarred by police violence. We join those urging Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul to fire the two officers involved, release all body camera and surveillance footage of the incident, and do everything in his power to end unjustified killings of civilians. Further, law enforcement agencies must respect the First Amendment rights of peaceful protesters and abide by the terms of the MOU they signed in 2016.”
The 2016 officer-involved killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castille near Minneapolis, MN sparked a series of national protests that ultimately led to the killing of three law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge and five cops in Dallas, Texas.
After a BRPD investigation of the incident, Officer Salamonii was fired and Officer Lake was suspended for three days.
Salamoni called his termination “the worst day” of his life and has since taken legal steps in an effort to return to the Baton Rouge Police Department. Officer Lake, meanwhile, has attempted to have the three-day suspension expunged from his records.
The owner of the Triple S Food Mart, a friend of Alton Sterling, has also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the BRPD, accusing the police department of illegally detaining him and confiscating his store’s video surveillance cameras without his knowledge or permission.
This article originally published in the September 24, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
