Alton Sterling’s oldest son spoke about his father and the ongoing protests at a press conference outside the convenience store where his father was killed. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Congressmen Cedric Richmond and Garret Graves have come together to create a bill to address the growing violence between law enforcement and the public. Emelie Gunn has more…
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This morning Alton Sterling’s oldest son called for peace at a press conference outside the convenience store where his father was fatally shot by police. 15-year-old Cameron Sterling says his father is a good man with a lot of people who love and care about him.
Sterling says now is the time for everyone to come together and not divide themselves. He says he wants people to continue to protest, but he doesn’t want there to be any more violence.
One of the Sterling family’s attorneys, Justin Bamberg, also spoke at the press conference. He says all the family wants is change, progress, and justice. He says they have questions about the ability to seek justice in Louisiana.
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Congressmen Cedric Richmond and Garret Graves have teamed up to introduce legislation that would give police training to de-escalate situations and help provide law enforcement access to nonlethal weapons. Graves says this comes after last week’s fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling. He says this bill’s goal is to use new technology to bridge gaps between life and death.
Graves says there are many new technologies out in the private sector and being developed to help officers stop suspects that are noncompliant without killing them. He says this bill includes police training on how to use the equipment and de-escalation techniques.
Graves says this is a five year bill which provides 130 million dollars in grants in the first year. He says the legislation won’t solve all of our problems but it’s something we can do in the meantime to help reduce the number of deaths and violence we’ve recently seen.
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The Richland Parish Sheriff’s Deputy who left his police K-9 in a hot car has plead guilty to criminal charges. District Attorney Mack Lancaster says John Cummings entered a guilty plea for one count of animal cruelty for leaving his K-9, Duke, in the car and one count of criminal mischief for writing a false police report. Lancaster says he was more disappointed about the report than the unfortunate accident that led to the dog’s death.
Lancaster says the deputy had to pay restitution for the dog and the money it cost to train the dog, which totaled more than $8,000. He says if Cummings had just told the truth about what happened, it probably would not have been as big of a deal.
Lancaster says Cummings was sentenced to 6 months in jail for each offense to be served back to back. But he says both of the sentences were suspended, and Cummings’ employment was terminated immediately.
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A Louisiana elementary school teacher has been nominated for the 2016-17 national LifeChanger of the Year award. The award is presented to teachers who are making a difference in the lives of their students by being a positive influence and demonstrating leadership and excellence. Gary Jackson is a third grade math teacher at Barkdull-Faulk Elementary School in Monroe. Jackson says he is honored that one of his colleagues nominated for this award.
cut 12 (07) “being recognized”
Jackson created a step team called “Golden Steppers” for young boys in his school. He says it’s important to help students grow both inside and outside the classroom.
Winners will be announced in Spring of 2017. Each winner of the award will receive a cash award with half the money going to the school and the other half going to the individual winner. Jackson says he already knows how he would spend his award if he wins.
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