Abdullah Muflahi was a witness to the killing of Alton Sterling by Baton Rouge police last week, and was able to capture footage of the police violence on his phone. This footage was particularly important to the case, as it showed that Sterling was not holding a weapon at the time he was killed. In a new conversation with the Daily Beast, Muflahi has now launched a lawsuit against the city of Baton Rouge and its police department, suggesting that the officers over-stepped their boundaries when it came to confiscating his surveillance video.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, says that Officer Blane Salamoni, who fired the fatal shots, ordered fellow officers to obtain the "entire store security system" just after Sterling had been killed. While Muflahi claims he requested to be in the store when the footage was taken, and also asked for a warrant, the officers locked him in their vehicle and proceeded to confiscate the footage from the stores security cameras, as well as taking the Muflahi's phone.
The lawsuit states Muflahi was locked in the car for the next four hours, only being let out to use the bathroom, though he was actually forced to relieve himself alongside the building instead. His lawyer also points out inconsistencies with the times listed on the warrant.
Muflahi is suing Officers Blane Salamoni, Timothy Ballard, Lt. Robert Cook, the City of Baton Rouge and Police Chief Carl Dabadi for "false arrest, false imprisonment, the illegal taking and seizing of his security system, illegally commandeering his business."
Black Lives Matter activists have continued to protest in Baton Rouge over the days following the killing of Alton Sterling.
