
Blane Salamoniâthe Baton Rouge, La., police officer who killed 37-year-old Alton Sterling on July 5, 2016âhas been fired, Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul announced Friday.
âThese [police officersâ] actions were not minor deviations from policy, as they contributed to the outcome that resulted in the death of another human being,â Paul said.
Officer Howie Lake II, who aided and abetted in Sterlingâs death, will be suspended for three days.
Even though Paul decided to fire Salamoni, he still found a way to blame Sterling for his own death.
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âTreat our police officers with the respect that their positions deserve, and I assure you that the men and women of the Baton Rouge Police Department will reciprocate that gesture,â Paul said. âPlease stop resisting. Stop running. When a police officer gives you directions, listen.â
Listen?
Philando Castile listenedâand heâs dead.
Tamir Rice didnât get a chance to listen before he was gunned down in a state-sanctioned drive-by.
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What we wonât do is pretend that âlisteningâ to police officers is all thatâs needed for black people to make it home alive.
The respect their positions deserve?
What about the respect that Alton Sterling deserved?
He was attacked and held down by two police officers for absolutely no reason at all.
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He was shot to death for no reason at all.
He should have been able to go home to his family; instead, he was fatally shot at point-blank range.
As The Root previously reported, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced Tuesday morning that Salamoni and Lake would not face any charges in Sterlingâs state-sanctioned shooting death, claiming that the officers âacted in a reasonable and justifiable manner.â
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There can be no mistake here: Firing Salamoni is not justice. It is not justice.
A person is fired for being consistently late.
A person is fired for stealing from their company.
A person is fired for inappropriate conduct.
Shooting a man to death for no other reason than that one canâand can get away with itâis not a routine HR issue; it is a crime against humanityâand it should be called the murder that it was.

