Hundreds of people
protested against the shooting which took place on Tuesday night and into
Wednesday, with Mr Sterling's family calling for the police chief to step down.
Alton Sterling's death was
filmed on the mobile phone of onlooker and activist Arthur Reed, who was just
metres away as two white police officers tried to arrest the 37-year-old.
The police shooting of a
man in Louisiana has added to concerns about excessive force used by police
against mostly black victims.
Mr Sterling, a father of
five who had been arrested a number of times before, had been selling CDs
outside a Baton Rouge convenience store.
Police say they had been
sent to the store at 12.35am on Tuesday after an anonymous caller told them
that Mr Sterling had threatened someone with a gun.
In the phone footage, the
two officers pinned Mr Sterling to the ground, someone yelled "He's got a
gun! Gun!" before gunfire erupted.
According to the area's
coroner, Dr William Clark, Mr Sterling died from multiple bullet wounds to his
chest and back.
Baton Rouge Police Chief
Carl Dabadie Jr said that Mr Sterling had been armed but the circumstances which
led to him being shot were still unclear.
He described the shooting
as a "horrible tragedy", telling reporters: "Like you, there is
a lot that we do not understand. And at this point, like you, I am demanding
answers."
The two officers - Blane
Salamoni, with four years' experience, and Howie Lake II with three years -
have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard policy.
It is not known whether one
or both fired their guns or how many times.
Baton Rouge Police said the
officers had been wearing bodycams but that these had become dislodged during
the scuffle.
Police said the cameras and
other evidence - dashcam and shop CCTV - had been handed to the US Justice
Department, which has started a civil rights investigation into the incident.
According to the owner of
the convenience store, Abdullah Muflahi, Mr Sterling had been confused about
why he was being arrested.
Mr Muflahi said he saw Mr
Sterling being thrown on top of a car bonnet and he could hear him asking:
"What did I do wrong?"
The 28-year-old store
owner, who also recorded the shooting on his phone, said he never saw Mr
Sterling with a gun but saw a police officer pull a gun out of Mr Sterling's
pocket after the shooting.
Black people must rise up and fight
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