Footage provided to The Daily Beast shows Alton Sterling being repeatedly shot by police officers after he was pinned to the ground.
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — New cellphone video provided to The Daily Beast shows Alton Sterling was not holding a gun in his hand when police shot and killed him.
Sterling’s death at the hands of two white officers has triggered protests in Baton Rouge and unleashed a national outcry, leading to calls by both the NAACP and members of Congress for a federal investigation, which the Justice Department has begun.
On Tuesday night, a 911 caller said a man at the store was threatening patrons with a gun. Officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake responded to the call from the Triple S Food Mart and encountered Sterling in the parking lot. Store owner Abduallah Muflahi told The Daily Beast that Sterling was not the person who was causing trouble and was a welcome presence at the store for years where he sold CDs from the parking lot. 
Yet after tackling Sterling and bringing him to the ground, one of the officers yelled, “He’s got a gun!”
The new video, provided by Muflahi, does not appear to support the claim that Sterling’s supposed gun represented an active threat to the officers. Instead, it shows Sterling being repeatedly shot after he was pinned on the ground.
The Daily Beast is publishing this video in its entirety—despite its graphic nature—because it shows what happened before, during, and after the controversial killing of Sterling. A previous video only showed him being tackled and the first of at least four gunshots.
Although Sterling was pinned down, one of the officers fired two gunshots into Sterling’s chest. A few seconds later, at least three more shots were fired. One officer is seen removing an object—it’s unclear what, exactly—from Sterling’s right pants pocket.
Sterling was still alive at this moment, moving his left arm and hand towards his face. By the time paramedics arrived, he was dead. 
Police said at a Wednesday press conference they would not confirm or deny a weapon was recovered from Sterling.
The officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated. District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III told reporters, “The officers feel they were completely justified.”