BATON ROUGE, La. – Hundreds of protesters angry over the fatal shooting of a black man by two white police officers took to the streets Saturday, calling for justice in an often-tense evening that saw police arrest a number of demonstrators including prominent Black Lives Matter activist, DeRay Mckesson.
Demonstrators gathered at the convenience store where 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot before fanning out to the city’s police department and at the state Capitol for another day of demonstrations.
The gatherings came after overnight demonstrations produced tense moments resulting in 30 arrests. The demonstration Saturday outside the Baton Rouge Police Department was at times tense again, as protesters faced off against police dressed in riot gear.
The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Sterling’s death, which has angered many in the black community.
Shouting “No justice! No peace!” roughly 1,000 protesters gathered outside the police department, waving homemade signs as passing cars honked their support. Some drivers stopped by with bottles of water.