The family of Alton Sterling, a Black man who was shot and killed by a white police officer outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., has reached a $4.5 million settlement with the city, nearly five years after his death.
Mr. Sterling, 37, a father of five, was fatally shot on July 5, 2016, after two Baton Rouge police officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, responded to a report that a Black man who was selling CDs outside a convenience store had brandished a gun and threatened someone.
According to The Advocate who obtained court documents regarding the settlement, Sterling’s family moved to dismiss a wrongful death against the city in May, signaling that an agreement had been reached to accept the funds.
The settlement, which came after the family had filed a lawsuit against Baton Rouge and others, “will allow the city to heal and provide a pathway for Mr. Sterling’s children to be provided for financially,” the lawyers said in a statement.
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I am pleased our metro council was able to find a consensus and approve an offer of settlement in the Alton Sterling civil case. After nearly five years, the people of Baton Rouge are finally one step closer to getting much needed closure in this traumatic episode in our history.
— Sharon Weston Broome (@MayorBroome) February 11, 2021
Sterling’s death came just one day before the brutal murder of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot thousands of miles away by a Minnesota police officer.
Their deaths helped fuel the call of Black Lives Matter protests which began around the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012.
