The Final Call

National protests against police brutality continues

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BATON ROUGE, La.— Since the killing of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, tensions between protesters and police have continued to rise at a rate that has resulted in over 180 arrests. Recently, a section of Government Street in downtown Baton Rouge has been blocked by protesters that followed a march at the Louisiana State Capitol. Among the arrested was DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist.

During a news conference on July 10, Gov. Bel Edwards stated that police patrol would be on high alert on anyone breaking laws or blocking highways. Social media postings have depicted how armed law officers are in responding to protests. Members of the SWAT team carrying assault rifles and wearing full riot gear were posted throughout Twitter.

The incidents have also provoked national responses. In Hampton Roads, Virginia, supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement protested on roads through Portsmouth, Norfolk, Hampton, and Virginia Beach.

Alton Sterling was shot five times in the chest while being tackled to the ground after an anonymous call to police was made at midnight on July 5. Sterling was reportedly selling CDs in front of the Triple S convenience store, with permission of the owner, Abdullah Muflahi. In an interview from BlackPressUSA, he stated that the police did not have to shoot Sterling according to what he saw. "They could have handled it differently."

Muflahi was also one of the two witnesses to record the incident in a newly released video.

An investigation of the killing has been opened by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division on July 6. No further information has been publicized at this time.