Some Baton Rouge Officers Angry at Firing of Comrade who Shot Alton Sterling

Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul is getting push back from within his department over his decision to discipline the two officers involved in the July 2016 shooting death of Alton Sterling.

Following a lunchtime speech Tuesday to a community organization, Paul said he’s received written communication from officers who are refusing to engage in certain “extracurricular activities” because they’re unhappy with his decision, announced March 30, to fire Salamoni and suspend Lake for three days, the Business Report says.

Those activities include teaching continuing education classes and providing training to existing officers within the department, he said.

Both state and federal agencies declined to file criminal charges against the officers.

Paul said he took full responsibility for the flack he’s gotten for his decision. He said he did a poor job at the March 30 press conference explaining his reasons for taking the actions he did against Salamoni and Lake. Salamoni’s stated plans to appeal the decision precluded him from being more specific about what went into the decision-making process, he said.