Officer drops appeal of suspension in black man’s shooting

BATON ROUGE, La. – A police officer is dropping his appeal of a three-day suspension over a confrontation with a black man whose shooting death prompted widespread protests in Baton Rouge in 2016.

News outlets report attorney Kyle Kershaw announced Thursday morning that client Howie Lake II was withdrawing his appeal with a civil service board. Kershaw told The Advocate continuing to appeal wasn’t worth it because the discipline was relatively minor.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul last year suspended Lake and fired Blane Salamoni, the officer who shot and killed Alton Sterling outside a convenience store in July 2016. Lake helped his partner wrestle Sterling to the ground but didn’t fire his gun. The officers recovered a loaded revolver from Sterling’s pocket.

Paul reversed Salamoni’s termination last month, letting him resign instead.