BATON ROUGE, La. — A lawyer for a former Louisiana police officer who shot and killed a black man says they're happy with a settlement that withdraws his termination and allows him to resign instead.
John McClindon represents Blane Salamoni, a former Baton Rouge police officer who shot Alton Sterling during a 2016 altercation that led to widespread protests.
Police chief Murphy Paul fired Salamoni last year. Salamoni appealed, and Murphy's office said Thursday that they'd agreed to a settlement with Salamoni allowing him to resign instead. The chief lambasted Salamoni's performance as a police officer and apologized to Sterling's family and the city.
McClindon says his client would have easily won reinstatement in an upcoming hearing but that he and Salamoni questioned what that would have achieved. With this settlement, McClindon says his client can resign and become an officer elsewhere if he wants.
