Small protest outside the Baton Rouge Police Department days after the DOJs ruling on Sterling case

A crowd gathered outside the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters early on Saturday to protest the Department of Justice’s decision to not charge the two police offers involved in the death of Alton Sterling, The Advocate reported. 

A reporter for The Advocate stated that about 20 individuals gathered outside the headquarters shouting “Black Power!”.

Baton Rouge police said the crowd was not there for more than two hours and that only one person was arrested. Sgt. Don Coppola said the man was suspected of carrying a weapon and was brought in for questioning. No such weapon was found and the man was later released.

The protest comes after DOJ stated the two officers, who are white, will not face any federal charges on May 3.

Relatives of Sterling were said to be devastated by the decision.

Sandra Sterling, Sterling’s aunt, told ABC News, “it’s like we waited all this time for nothing.”

“As we were going through the process, I kept asking them, ‘What happens if they come back with this decision?’,”Sterling said. “They said, ‘Well, it will be worth the wait.’ But no, it’s not worth the wait. It’s not worth the wait. All this was for nothing.”

Veda Washington-Abusaleh, another of Sterling’s aunts, told The Times-Picayune she was “unhappy with the Justice Department for not clarifying its position in the face of the widespread reports.”

“The lawyers called and said they have not made a decision,” Washington-Abusaleh told the publication. “We need closure, we need a conviction. We need justice.”

According to the Washington Post, the Justice Department had not issued any formal announcement or had notified the Sterling family at the time of the ruling.

Justin Bamberg confirmed that when speaking with The Advocate by saying “We can only hope that, prior to any formal or informal announcement from the Department of Justice, they’ll take the time to sit down and let Alton’s family and children know what the results of their investigation and conclusions will be.”

However, the DOJ will privately met with the Sterling family on Wednesday morning as confirmed by Sandra Sterling herself.

Sterling received gunshot wounds to the chest and back from Officer Blane Salamoni and Officer Howie Lake when they responded to a 911-call stating a man was threatening people with a gun outside the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge.

Sterling was known to cell CDs outside the convenient store.

Video footage from the scene depicted the two cops tackling and wrestling Sterling to the ground. One officer can be heard shouting “he has a gun!”

Both officers were placed on administrative leave until the end of the investigation.

In anticipation of the DOJ decision, more than 100 people gathered at the store where Sterling was shot on Tuesday night.

Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston said she was “appalled” by the news. “I am appalled that this news, whether true or false, has been disseminated without a formal decision being relayed to the Sterling family first,” Weston said.

Weston added that no one from her office of the govern’s office had been notified by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The decision, however, does not prevent state authorities from investigating the death of 37 year-old Sterling, whose death was caught on video footage.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry can still file state chargers, although he has yet to launch an official investigation and has not mentioned any plans in doing so.