Witness to Sterling killing files lawsuit: Cops locked me up, took phone, video
The owner of the convenience store where Alton Sterling was killed by police is suing for the way he was treated by police.
Abdullah Muflahi, proprietor of the Triple S Mart, said he saw police confront and kill Sterling, who was selling CDs with his permission in his front parking lot last Tuesday night. Muflahi recorded part of the incident in footage he gave The Daily Beast last week that shows Sterling did not have a weapon in his hand when Officer Howie Lake shouted “Gun!” and Officer Blane Salamoni fired six shots into his chest.
Muflahi claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in Baton Rouge district court that after Salamoni killed Sterling, he immediately told responding officers Lt. Robert Cook and Officer Timothy Ballard to confiscate the “entire store security system” and detain him.
“I told them I would like to be in the store when [they took it],” Muflahi told The Daily Beast, adding that he also demanded they get a warrant for the seizure of his private property.
Officers didn’t even file an application for a search warrant, The Daily Beast found last week. Nor did Muflahi sign a “Voluntary Consent to Search Form” with the Baton Rouge police.
After taking away Muflahi’s cellphone—and the damning video on it—Lt. Cook and Officer Ballard locked the him in the back of a police car for the next four hours, the lawsuit claims. The only time Muflahi was let out was when he had to use the restroom.“The officers would not allow Mr. Muflahi to use the restroom inside of his business establishment and he was escorted to the side of his building and forced to relieve himself right there within arm distance of a BPRD officer and in full view of the public,” the lawsuit states.
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24 responses to Witness to Sterling killing files lawsuit: Cops locked me up, took phone, video
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mea_mark July 12th, 2016 at 10:24
When LEOs ignore the rights of those they are supposed to be serving, you will have problems. It’s time to get rid of the officers that don’t respect people’s rights. That is of course unless you like protests in the street from lots of angry people, then carry on.
whatthe46 July 12th, 2016 at 10:24
Good! Break the break with these sob’s.
Larry Schmitt July 12th, 2016 at 11:01
But that’s not really a solution, because the taxpayers of Baton Rouge end up paying, and they didn’t commit a crime.
whatthe46 July 12th, 2016 at 12:24
But if the tax payers don’t want to foot the Bill then they should demand changes.
Larry Schmitt July 12th, 2016 at 12:30
I agree with you.
whatthe46 July 12th, 2016 at 13:21
Well there are things that can be implemented. For one, social media. Everone is using it. Follow those who want to join and those already on the force. Fire those crossing the line immediately. And make them get their own coverage and loss of pensions.
Mike July 12th, 2016 at 13:13
Eventually the feds will move to take control like what happened in Ferguson.
Larry Schmitt July 12th, 2016 at 13:31
Since the local authorities can’t be trusted, that seems to be the solution. Ferguson has overwhelming majority black residents, and two black police officers, something like that. That’s not a coincidence, that’s deliberate. And traffic fines should not be a major source of income.
Mike July 12th, 2016 at 13:37
I picked up on that too when watching the BRPD yesterday…it’s a very black city but I had a hard time locating a black police officer in the horde of stormtroopers dressed in full body armor facing off against wrinkly old black women and men…
bpollen July 12th, 2016 at 23:57
I think the city and the police should each pick up half the cost of individual liability insurance. And when you consider what the payouts have been to victims, it would have to be for 8 figures or more.
whatthe46 July 13th, 2016 at 00:31
i don’t get the thought process of the mayor, well, unless he’s a gulianni (sp). you can’t want something like this for your city, your state. it’s incredibly depressing and sad, that other countries are warning their citizens about visiting us. breaks my heart. hate is a terrible bitch.
bpollen July 13th, 2016 at 00:39
It’s kind of like addicts. When you get too close to challenging their behavior and the reasons for it, they get panicky and start coming up with excuses that allow or even support their continued use. It’s not them, it’s the world that makes them do it.
whatthe46 July 13th, 2016 at 01:53
exactly. and it’s disgusting. the other problem i have though is that, just because you’re miserable, and 55, why would you want your 10 year old to be just as miserable? the sad part is, they were born into hate and don’t even realize that it’s the way they were raised, and their world were their parents and not everyone elses. i get miserable with the damn flu, and that’s short term. why on earth anyone chooses to be sick and miserable, long term?
bpollen July 13th, 2016 at 03:48
Some people seem to relish victimhood. They maybe want to pity them and treat them like the poor, abused, delicate flower in the harsh, cruel, unforgiving, and just unfair world that they feel they are. Much like Trump and the media.
labman57 July 12th, 2016 at 10:41
Another police department that has warped their sacred motto into:
“To protect and to serve … our own self-interests.”
StoneyCurtisll July 12th, 2016 at 10:54
I heard this on NPR this morning…
Thus begins the cover up by the Baton Rouge police department…
They, (the police) held the store owner in a cop car for 4 hours, took away his phone he recorded the killing with, and without a warrant took the stores surveillance video…
Mike July 12th, 2016 at 13:10
After the stunt the BRPD pulled yesterday with the riot gear cops going onto private property to stop some perceived future crime, I wonder if they’ll have enough money to pay all these people when the courts b!tch slap them into the 21 century
whatthe46 July 13th, 2016 at 01:32
ok, i’m upvoting you because, well, i likes ya, but, what happened yesterday with “BRPD?” i didn’t see that.
Mike July 13th, 2016 at 08:23
You can catch it at Raw Story…a BLM protest that was basically on private property turned into a stormtrooper melee when cops in full body armor stormed onto private property claiming the protesters were going to block the highway…so they arrested them before it could happen…the cops actually blocked the highway…no BLM protester was even close to the entrance…the visual was horrible…old men and women along with kids and others were rounded up and smacked around …unreal in the 21st century
whatthe46 July 13th, 2016 at 09:13
thanks. now that i have the visual in my head, no need to read anymore.
bpollen July 13th, 2016 at 03:54
Minority Report Policing – Brought to you by the people who made Stop & Frisk.
Comicus July 12th, 2016 at 17:23
Is there any city in Louisiana that doesn’t have a corrupt police department?
whatthe46 July 13th, 2016 at 01:27
even though i’m from New Orleans, i… nevermind. nope, i’ve got nothing.
whatthe46 July 13th, 2016 at 02:14
i am SOOOO on his side.