BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards defended the police response to protesters rallying against the shooting death of a black man by white officers, saying Tuesday that the riot gear and weaponry was appropriate.
“We’ve had a police officer with teeth knocked out of his face because of a rock. If you don’t have on riot gear, you have no defense against that sort of thing,” said the Democratic governor, who comes from a family of sheriffs.
After nearly a week of protests over the killing of Alton Sterling, Baton Rouge officers, state police and other law enforcement agencies have received criticism for their methods of dealing with demonstrators.
Protests have spread across the country as people express outrage over the recent death in Baton Rouge and of a second black man, Philando Castile, at the hands of police in Minnesota last week. The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into Sterling’s shooting.
In the first few days after Sterling’s death, police took a reserved approach to enforcement, keeping a low profile as hundreds gathered outside the convenience store where Sterling died.
But tensions escalated at weekend protests that moved away from the store and into other areas of the city, with nearly 200 people arrested and a show of force from law enforcement that included police wielding batons, armed with long guns and wearing shields.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has criticized police as using “violent, militarized tactics on groups of people who have gathered peacefully.” Amnesty International has questioned the high number of arrests.
Edwards characterized the response as “moderate” and pushed back against suggestions the show of force was too militarized, referencing the shooting deaths of five police officers during a protest in Dallas on Thursday.
“In light of what happened in Dallas, understanding that just one gunman can change the situation entirely, how do you in good conscience put police officers on the street without the ability to defend themselves?” he said.
Louisiana authorities said a number of rallies coordinated with police have gone off without problems. The arrests stemmed largely from people not complying with officers’ commands and trying to block a major highway and an interstate, they said. Edwards has largely faulted people from outside the city who he said have taken “a more violent approach.”
Sterling’s funeral is scheduled for Friday at Southern University, and there are worries that could again ramp up protests.
Community leaders have tried to defuse tension and keep interactions between protesters and law enforcement calm.
State Rep. Ted James, a black lawyer who grew up in the area where Sterling was shot, and Cleve Dunn Jr., a prominent black businessman in Baton Rouge, met with local Republican leaders at a public luncheon to discuss the shooting. The two men have showed up at protests and urged calm.
“I truly believe that we can have parallel conversations about respect for police officers, making sure that they’re safe, but also have a parallel conversation about the things that are happening with African-American males across the country,” James said.
James said black community leaders want Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to appoint a special prosecutor to handle any state investigation into Sterling’s shooting death. He said the attorney general’s office doesn’t have the level of expertise to do the investigation and the appointment of an outside prosecutor would depoliticize the work.
East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore has recused himself, leaving Landry to handle any state criminal investigation. The attorney general’s office didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
Dunn said African-American leaders also are calling on police to release the 911 call and surveillance video from the convenience store where Sterling was killed.
While James and Dunn spoke with Republicans, dozens of black and white religious and community leaders shared stories and mapped out a strategy for making the city more equitable and racially united. The gathering was convened by Together Baton Rouge, which is pushing to turn the fatal shooting of Sterling into a moment of change and action for the city.
The Rev. Lee Wesley said Baton Rouge has a “faulty foundation” that needs to be fixed by making the city more unified across racial lines.
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