BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on the police shooting of a Baton Rouge man that sparked protests (all times local):
10:35 a.m.
The Justice Department says it will open a civil rights investigation into the videotaped police shooting of a black man outside a Baton Rouge convenience store.
Agency spokesman David Jacobs said Wednesday that the FBI's New Orleans Division and the U.S. attorney's office will participate in the investigation of the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling.
Police say they went to the store Tuesday after an anonymous caller said Sterling had threatened someone with a gun.
The Justice Department's investigation will look into whether the officers willfully violated Sterling's civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.
Similar investigations, which often take many months to resolve, were opened following the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York.
Federal investigators must meet a high legal burden to bring a civil rights prosecution, establishing that an officer knowingly used unreasonable force under the circumstances and did not simply make a mistake or use poor judgment. Many federal probes conclude without criminal charges.
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10:25 a.m.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says the cellphone video of the fatal police shooting of a black man in Baton Rouge is "disturbing to say the least."
Edwards said during a news conference on Wednesday that the U.S. Justice Department would investigate the shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling. He was killed early Tuesday outside a convenience store where he was selling CDs.
Police say they were called to the store Tuesday after an anonymous caller said Sterling had threatened someone with a gun.
The governor said he understood that protesters were angry over the shooting and called for calm.
Authorities have not released the race of the two officers, who have been placed on administrative leave.
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9:35 a.m.
In the wake of the fatal shooting of a black man by police at a Baton Rouge convenience store, a protester says people in the community need answers and justice.
Forty-five-year-old Sharon Alexander made the comments Wednesday, a day after 37-year-old Alton Sterling's death.
A pastor told the small crowd gathered that the protest would be peaceful. That's when Alexander chimed in, telling the pastor as her voice cracked: "We don't need peace. We need answers; we need justice."
Alexander was there with her daughter and three other relatives. She later said: "Our kids are not hearing our story. We sound like a broken record. It's time for a change."
A video that purported to show the killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling further fueled public anger about the shooting early Tuesday, prompting hundreds to protest.
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8:45 a.m.
The head of the Baton Rouge NAACP in Louisiana has called for the police chief to be fired or resign in the wake of the fatal shooting of a black man during a confrontation at a convenience store.
Michael McClanahan said during a Wednesday morning news conference that Baton Rouge can't have a leader who "allows this type of action to take place."
A video that purported to show the killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling further fueled public anger about the shooting early Tuesday, prompting hundreds to protest.
A vigil for Sterling is planned for Wednesday night.
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7:30 a.m.
Outside a Louisiana convenience store where a black Baton Rouge man was shot and killed by police, people have been paying their respects.
Authorities said 37-year-old Alton Sterling died Tuesday of multiple gunshot wounds after an altercation with police. His death and a subsequent video that purported to show the shooting sparked protests.
By dawn Wednesday, protesters and friends had created a makeshift memorial to Sterling on the white folding tables and fold out chair he had used to sell homemade music compilations on CD's.
Arthur Baines came by to pay his respects. He said Sterling didn't bother people and that he was just trying to make a living.
Mufleh Alatiyat, a 25-year old employee of the store, described Sterling as generous and said he often gave away CDs or petty cash or bought food or drink for people.
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2:30 a.m.
A Louisiana police officer shot and killed a man during a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store, authorities say, in a death that prompted a protest later in the day.
East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. William Clark says an autopsy shows 37-year-ol Alton Sterling died Tuesday of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back.
Cpl. L'Jean McKneely said officers responded to the store about 12:35 a.m. Tuesday after an anonymous caller indicated a man selling music CDs and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun.
McKneely says two officers responded and had some type of altercation with the man and one officer fatally shot the suspect. He says both officers have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard department policy.
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