Thread: Alton sterling

Pandora Stock Tanks after Endorsing Black Lives Matter

By Officer Blue On July 24, 2016

On July 8th, online music service Pandora tweeted a message of support endorsing Black Lives Matter. The employees of the company were likely unaware that Black Lives Matter isn’t exactly popular outside of far left groups.

Their image created a huge backlash online.

The message was sent immediately following the terrorist attack against law enforcement in Dallas. As I’m sure you can imagine, the whole thing didn’t go over well with a whole lot of people.

Pandora has been in dire straights lately, and now they just lost a huge number of users, following their support for Black Lives Matter,

Pacific Crest’s Andy Hargreaves sent a note to clients on Thursday which read:

“Pandora’s core operating leverage has deteriorated and we see little prospect for meaningful profits in on-demand. While M&A is possible, we do not view it as likely at the current valuation. We believe economics in Pandora’s core radio business have been impaired and we do not see meaningful potential for profitability in its push to on demand. We do not recommend owning P.”

Pandora is facing its own downfall, and maybe they thought that a tweet supporting Black Lives Matter could draw people away from competitor TIDAL, which is owned by well-known Black Lives Matter supporters such as Alicia Keys, Jay Z, Beyonce, Kanye West, and more. Pandora’s message is unlikely to draw any new subscribers and they just upset millions of law enforcement supporters.

Let’s spread the word that Pandora is supporting the hate group of Black Lives Matter, and let the market tell them what they think.


http://bluelivesmatter.blue/pandora-...-lives-matter/

Feds seal Alton Sterling autopsy results

Tuesday, August 2nd 2016

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - The US Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana has issued a federal court order keeping the Alton Sterling autopsy report sealed, preventing it from being released to the public.

In response to a request from WAFB about the order, the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office said, "We have been issued a second Federal Court Order prohibiting the release of the first court order as well."

The coroner's office reported Sterling, 37, died from multiple gunshot wounds to the back and chest. However, federal authorities will not allow the release of additional information, including the toxicology analysis.

Investigators are still working to piece together what prompted the deadly officer-involved shooting. The Baton Rouge Police Department confirmed that Sterling died after being shot during an altercation at the Triple S Food Mart on July 5. The store is located at the corner of Fairfields Avenue and North Foster Drive.

Officials said Officer Blane Salamoni and Officer Howie Lake II responded to the call around 12:30 a.m. They reported an altercation ensued between the officers and Sterling, who was said to be outside the store selling CDs. Abdullah Muflahi owns the store and said he knew Sterling. He also witnessed the shooting and said things quickly got out of control.

Muflahi claims one officer used a stun gun on Sterling and the second officer tackled him to the ground, where Sterling struggled with the officer who had tackled him and was trying to get the officer "off the top of him." According to the store owner, the officers shot Sterling four to six times shortly after he was tackled.

Muflahi said he did not see a gun in Sterling’s hand, but he said he did see officers pull a gun out of Sterling’s pocket after the shooting.
The officers were placed on administrative leave after the shooting, which is standard procedure. East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore confirmed that both officers said they felt their actions were justified just after the shooting.

Officials said both officers had on body cameras, but they fell off during the struggle and do not show the shooting. However, there is footage from the dashboard camera from one of the patrol cars, as well as from at least one store surveillance camera, which is believed to have captured the ordeal.

http://www.wafb.com/story/32597240/f...utopsy-results

?????

Originally Posted by boopster

what is being hidden?

We already know he was shot three times in the chest with three exit wounds in the back.

Drug screen results ? He was tazed twice with no effect. He was on drugs or something.... which would ruin the narrative of this "gentle giant" - "family man" ( violent drug offender, sexual offender, & child molestor who was thousands of dollars behind on his child support )

Originally Posted by 3lilpigs

On one hand I'm curious, and would like to know what it says.

But then on the other hand, I don't think personal information like this should be made available to the public. That goes for everyone........not just him.

The officers are being accused of "murder" and "genocide". The BLM hate-filled rhetoric concerning this incident is directly connected to the ambush murders of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge and beyond. If it was a justified shooting - then the officers involved should be publicly cleared. If they were not - they need to be just as publicly held accountable.

Shocking! Store Owner Hid Video Footage From Police In Alton Sterling Shooting

Posted On : July 8, 2016



The shooting of Alton Sterling has drawn criticism for a number of reasons, but there’s one thing some local citizens agree on: the Baton Rouge Police Department can’t be trusted. Shortly after the horrific shooting took place, the seemingly frantic police officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II demanded the owner of the store hand over the surveillance footage.

Although they didn't have a warrant and the store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, denied the request, the footage was still confiscated.

But, what they didn't know was he also filmed the confrontation on his personal cell phone. Since he didn't trust the police department, he decided to share the footage with the public by having his attorney turn it over to WBRZ News. “They [police] were really aggressive with him from the start,” said Muflahi.

Muflahi's attorney, Joel Porter, also hinted about there being more evidence but he explained why he's holding back to evaluate whether or not the police would be honest.

"I want them to be locked into a narrative,” he said. “They thought they could come in and confiscate and control what the narrative was. But now they know there’s other footage out there.”

At this point, the surveillance footage is still being withheld and many citizens are wondering why. Until all evidence is made public and justice is served, the protests will most likely continue.

http://whenrapwasreal.com/shocking-s...ling-shooting/

The store owner doesn't want his business or his home which is only a few yards away, to be Ground Zero of the type of chaos and destruction we have seen in other "BLM protests"

I also question the when and how the business owner chose to film from inside his building

'A delicate line': Baton Rouge police chief thrust into spotlight amid shooting tragedies, scrutiny
BY REBEKAH ALLEN - Aug 6, 2016 - 5:27 pm

When Carl Dabadie Jr. got the call all police chiefs dread, he was deep in the throes of one of the most challenging times for the Baton Rouge Police Department.

Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man was shot and killed by a white police officer on July 5, triggering demonstrations in this city and across the nation. Journalists from around the world and protesters from across the country descended on Baton Rouge, thrusting Dabadie and his officers into the global spotlight.

Both the shooting and the subsequent response to protests were captured on video, widely shared on social media and dissected by the public, who compared the sleepy capital city with the likes of Ferguson or Baltimore — cities that have become synonymous with unrest and distrust of law enforcement.

Dabadie's officers worked 16-hour days. Morale was at an all time low.

And then, the phone rang.

It was just before 9 a.m. on July 17, and Dabadie was at home.

"Two officers down, maybe three. With two more injured. And it was possibly still active," he recalled about the conversation with his deputy chief. "I had this sinking, heart wrenching feeling that it was really bad."

Six law enforcement officers were shot. Three died, including two from Dabadie's department and a sheriff's deputy, while another deputy is still fighting for his life at the hospital. Dabadie actually had himself trained one of the police officers, Cpl. Montrell Jackson, in the academy a decade ago.

"From the protests to having to bury two officers, I don't know that it gets any worse than that," he said in an interview. "Sometimes I think this is a big nightmare that I'm going to wake up from and that it's all going to be OK."

'Never had any doubt'

Dabadie, who grew up in Baker the son of a Baton Rouge police officer, spent a lifetime influenced by the law enforcement community. He knew early on that he would go on to follow in his father's footsteps.

"I admired him growing up for all that he did," Dabadie said of his father. "I never had any doubt this is what I wanted to do."

Laurie Drummond, a former police officer in the 1980s, described the elder Dabadie as a "larger than life personality" who was widely respected and admired by the department's rank and file.

In 1984, when Dabadie was in his first year of college at Arkansas State, his father was killed in a motorcycle wreck while on duty. His father, a lieutenant and commander of the traffic division who had spent 27 years with the police department, suffered fatal head wounds when a produce truck ran a stop sign and struck him while he was on a routine patrol.

After his father died, Dabadie left school to return home to be with his mother, joining the academy in 1986. He rose through the ranks starting in uniform patrol and then spent years riding motorcycles in the traffic division, like his father. Dabadie also did about five years in SWAT, before finding his calling as an academy instructor. In 2005, he became the police academy director, where he got to know just about every new cadet who joined the department.

"I had a bond with pretty much everyone here," he said.

Teaching cadets the foundation of becoming a successful officer was among the highlights of his career, he said. It was his first taste of leadership and it gave him a sense of investment in the future of officers around him.

"I enjoy the molding of trainees and watching them progress through the academy," he said. "There's a level of accomplishment to have taken someone who had no idea what police work was all about to now graduating through the academy and then you're putting them on the street as an officer."

Dabadie, who also served as chief of staff, first applied for chief of police in 2011, during a long, public search and interview process. That process yielded the selection of former Police Chief Dewayne White, a BRPD outsider who came from Louisiana State Police.

White's chaotic and rebellious term as chief was a complete contrast to Dabadie, his successor.

White was outspoken, anti-union, and would openly take positions on issues that were at odds with East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden, who appointed him. He talked frankly about what he saw as the lack of trust between the black community and the police.

Within less than two years, it was clear the chief had fallen out of favor with the Mayor-President's Office. White was fired after a protracted saga with Holden that played out publicly for months, with vicious character attacks lobbed on both sides.

With White out the door, the city conducted a search for a new chief. Dabadie was selected as interim chief, and in Aug. 2013, he accepted the official title with little fanfare.

Dabadie was seen as the popular, union-backed, internal candidate who could bring together the troops who were divided over White's firing.

"Officers like to see someone who has done what they do be their leader," said Chris Stewart, the long-time police union president who only recently stepped down. "He's well trained, intelligent and has an understanding of law enforcement."

Until this summer, Dabadie has been considered an uncontroversial police chief. Along with union support, he has had the backing of the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council. Prominent local black activists have applauded his attempts to improve race relations.

But unlike his predecessor, Dabadie eschews the lime light and steers clear of controversy. When taking public positions on issues that affect his department, he's rarely out of step with the mayor.

He said his strengths as a chief are overseeing the necessary police work and leading by example. But he admits that he derives little joy from the politics of his job and being the public face of his department.

"I never had aspirations of being chief. I like being here and getting the work done," he said. "But I'm not a politician whatsoever. I think everyone has seen that in the last few years. I don't like that part of the job, even though it is part of the job. But with Mayor Holden, he handles a lot of the political side of it so I don't have to."

This resistance to being a public figure could be seen throughout the many news conferences and the media blitz associated with the recent shootings. Dabadie has taken a back seat to Louisiana State Police Col. Mike Edmondson, despite his department being at the center of both tragedies.

BRPD under scrutiny

It's difficult to avoid the glare of the spotlight when the world is watching. And Dabadie has struggled with the accompanying scrutiny.

The two officers involved in the shooting of Sterling are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have not publicly commented on the incident, but a BRPD search warrant report said that Sterling tried to reach for a gun in his pocket before one officer fired.

Asked if he thought they'd be cleared of wrongdoing, Dabadie said he had "no idea" and couldn't really comment on their actions.

What he truly takes umbrage with is the criticism of how local law enforcement handled the protesters in the aftermath of the shooting.

Initial protests after Sterling was killed were in front of the Triple S Food Mart on North Foster Drive — the site of the shooting. There wasn't much visible police presence when protesters stayed at that location. After a few days, though, the demonstrations moved to Airline Highway, near police headquarters, with some protesters saying they wanted to take their message more directly to law enforcement.

But by that time, five officers in Dallas were fatally gunned down during a peaceful protest partially in response to the Sterling shooting, putting law enforcement nationwide on edge.

It all culminated in a tense weekend when about 180 people were arrested for obstructing roadways. Officers showed up in riot gear, carrying long guns, driving armored vehicles and wearing gas masks. Videos circulated on social media of the officers' response, such as one incident at a protest in Beauregard Town when they swarmed upon a woman's private property to apprehend protesters running away.

The criticism has been as crushing as it is unfair, Dabadie said.

After the shootings of his own officers, Dabadie grew more vocal about his anger with the recent media coverage of protests. He used public appearances to both praise the bravery of the fallen officers and defend the police response to protests.

"We've been questioned for the (past couple) weeks about our militarized tactics and our militarized law enforcement," Dabadie said at a joint press conference following the officer shooting. "This is why. Because we are up against a force that is not playing by the rules."

At the burial of Officer Matthew Gerald, the first of three funerals to be held, Dabadie again took aim at the coverage.

"You know, the media has blasted us for what we do, basically portraying law enforcement as these bunch of bullies who go around and beat people up," he said at the funeral, in an emotional statement that was not part of his pre-written remarks. "Well, I want you to look around in here, and you look at the bullies. We're not bullies. We're protecting our communities. And they throw us under the bus for it, and it's wrong."

Dawn Collins, an East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member, blasted Dabadie's comments, particularly the ones he made at the initial press conference, as an unfair attempt to link local protesters with the man who killed the officers. Gavin Long, a military veteran from Missouri, specifically targeted law enforcement officers, authorities said.

"The only thing that connecting the shooting of those officers to protests does is heighten the frustration of community members. To turn around and try to tie that to peaceful protesters is egregious," said Collins, who has also been critical of the "militarized equipment" used in the protest response.

Dabadie has said he didn't blame protesters for the shooting of the officers and described Long as an outsider who traveled to Louisiana in light of the recent media attention about Sterling's death.

Dabadie said, as chief, he feels a sense of duty to defend his officers.

"I want to take care of them and make sure they're in good spirits," he said. "Because I need them to work, and this community needs them to work."

Dabadie said while he wouldn't say their response at protests was perfect, he stands behind it and would replicate it in the event that protests ramp back up. He contends the response didn't become militarized until protesters were either violent or after hours of refusing to obey the law by protesting in streets.

And he stuck to his critique of the media.

"I'm not going to say we didn't make missteps, but I don't think we were treated fairly," he said. "I don't think the whole picture was shown. Only pieces and parts were shown to make us look bad, and unfortunately anytime you make an arrest it's ugly, and anytime we use force it's ugly. But unfortunately somebody has to do it."

Dabadie said between the fallout of the shootings, the investigations and the organization of the funeral services, he hasn't had time to yet to process what's happened. He hasn't fully felt the weight of grief that he knows is inevitable, he said.

It's unclear what role Dabadie, or the outgoing Holden administration, will play in the larger debate that has continued in recent weeks about whether larger changes are needed in BRPD policies and practices. Community leaders, politicians and protesters have all called for different kinds of reform since the Sterling shooting, from changes in how BRPD investigates police use of force to exhortations for a greater emphasis on community policing.

State Rep. Ted James, who has been outspoken in his concern about the Sterling shooting and attended several protests, said he has great respect for the chief, but would like to hear some acknowledgement of the need for change.

"No doubt he's supportive of his guys, but I'd love to see him engage in different aspects of this conversation," James said. "I know he's trying to walk a delicate line and not say statements adverse to officers, but we can all say with a level of certainty that we can do better than this."

Moving forward, Dabadie said it's unclear what role the department will play in terms of repairing relationships in Baton Rouge's black community. But he said the responsibility should not fall solely to law enforcement.

"It's not just a law enforcement problem. It's an education problem. It's an economic development problem. It's a mental health problem. It's a health care problem," he said. "There are a lot of facets involved in this, and it's not just the police."

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rou...897a8a088.html