102 arrested during overnight protests; police blame outsiders

BATON ROUGE- By Sunday morning, 102 people had been booked into jail related to protests outside Baton Rouge Police Headquarters Saturday.

Click HERE to see the list of names booked into jail. The .PDF is four pages; page 1 contains the list of names of people arrested during a protest Friday, page 2-4 contain the names of the 102 booked during the latest protest Saturday evening. The initial Sunday morning report announced 101 had been arrested, but the jail report added one more name to the list to make it 102. Many of the arrested are from outside Baton Rouge.

For the second day, hundreds gathered outside the department's facility on Airline Highway at the Goodwood intersection. Tensions reached reached a boiling point between protesters and police. The crowd gathered in response to the shooting death of Alton Sterling who was shot and killed by Baton Rouge Police in the parking lot of the Triple S store on North Foster Drive and Fairfields Tuesday.

More protests are planned for Sunday.

Baton Rouge Police and other law enforcement were seen clad in full riot gear Saturday evening. Shields, helmets, rifles and vests were visible. At the scene, protesters could be seen throwing water on police which caused things to quickly escalate.

Airline is shut down at BRPD. I got pushed by a cop for not moving fast enough @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/Pwv6z65V3K — Mark Armstrong (@TvMarkArmstrong) July 9, 2016

While WBRZ was on the scene, one by one, protesters were escorted to a waiting prisoner bus before they were carted off to jail.

Diesel mechanic Demetris Butler stood his ground against riot police, "tired of backing down." Struck w/ baton @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/4iZPB5Mw8T — Mark Armstrong (@TvMarkArmstrong) July 10, 2016

Earlier in the day things remained peaceful as people demonstrated in a calm manner. Marcus Johnson said no one was looking for trouble.

"We're not out here to have no drama with the police," Johnson said. "We're just out here to get justice for the man that got killed."

Johnson called what happened to Sterling a grave injustice. That's why he felt compelled to show up and stand with other people in the community.

"The police officers that killed him, they should have arrested them," Johnson said "Let them bond out, but they out here free."

The officers involved in Tuesday's incident are Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II. Both officers have been with the Baton Rouge Police Department for a combined total of seven years. The way they handled Alton Sterling sparked national outrage and caused an outcry for change.

"We not trying to start nothing no violence," Johnson said. "But sooner or later, if something doesn't happen, violence gonna come behind this."

Things didn't end peacefully for Johnson Saturday night. He was also whisked away in handcuffs for causing problems tonight.

Also among those arrested was Deray Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist. Mckesson is perhaps the most prominent activist associated with the police reform movement, the Washington Post reported. The newspaper also reported the arrest Sunday morning.

Law enforcement said Sunday morning, the 101 people arrested were booked into jail on similar charges as the smaller group arrested after a protest Friday outside police headquarters. Charges range from blocking a roadway, disobeying police and inciting a riot. The protest Saturday was far more tense than Friday - police were out in a larger force, had more tactical equipment and protesters caused a very brief closure of I-12, WBRZ.com reported earlier.

WBRZ reporters Mark Armstrong and Brett Buffington reported from the scene and posted dramatic pictures and videos to their Twitter accounts. Click their names for a link to each feed.

Officials announced Saturday that deputies from Ascension Parish and Livingston Parish are headed to Baton Rouge to help Baton Rouge Police, East Baton Rouge Sherriff's and State Police.

"It appears the protest at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters have become more violent as out of town protesters are arriving. Any protest which becomes violent will be immediately dispersed," the police department said in a news release Sunday.

"The protest (Saturday) night at Baton Rouge Police Headquarters organized by individuals from outside our Baton Rouge community resulted in 102 arrests. In addition to the arrests, 3 rifles, 3 shotguns and 2 pistols were confiscated. A Baton Rouge Police Officer had several of his teeth knocked out as a projectile was thrown from the protest," the department said.

Baton Rouge Police also posted a video on their Facebook around 9 p.m. showing Reverend Earnest Jackson of City Church of Baton Rouge praying over officers, deputies and troopers.

You can view that video here: