Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man who was selling CDs in front of a convenience store in Louisiana.
A graphic video showing a Baton Rouge police officer shooting Sterling to death went viral on Tuesday.
Warning: This video contains graphic content.
“The video footage released today of the shooting of Alton Sterling by officers of the Baton Rouge Police Department was deeply troubling and has understandably evoked strong emotion and anger in our community,” Richmond said in a statement.
“There are a number of unanswered questions surrounding Mr. Sterling's death. Including questions about the initial calls for police presence, the level of force used by officers, the verbal and physical altercation, and the response of the officers after he was shot," he added. "I call on the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a full and transparent investigation into this incident. The cause of justice requires state and local law enforcement to join in this request as soon as possible.”
Other lawmakers, including Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), also called on the DOJ to investigate the shooting.
Michael McClanahan, president of the Baton Rouge NAACP, has called on Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie, Jr. to resign in the wake of the shooting.
The Justice Department has investigated several other high-profile officer-involved deaths of black men in recent years, looking to see if civil rights violations occurred in the killings of Freddie Gray, Eric Garner and Michael Brown, among others.
Read more on shooting of Sterling here.
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