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A Baton Rouge law enforcement official who was harmed during a shooting incident last year, which claimed the lives of three of his colleagues, is taking legal action against leaders of the Black Lives Matter collective, reports Reuters.

The shooting, which took place in July 2016, was carried out by an ex-Marine sergeant who opened fire on police officers, leaving three of them slain, writes the source. The gunman, identified as Gavin Long, was shot and killed.

The officer, who claims that BLM leaders sparked the violence, filed a lawsuit against DeRay McKesson and others at a U.S. district court in Louisiana. The lawsuit says that he was wounded by “a person violently protesting against police, and which violence was caused or contributed to by the leaders of and by ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER’,” according to the source.

As part of the lawsuit, he’s asking for $75,000 in damages.

Reuters reports that McKesson has yet to address the lawsuit, but other leaders within Black Lives Matter say that they would never encourage violence against police officers.

Racial tensions were heightened in Baton Rouge and across America during the month that the shooting occurred after video footage surfaced of two police officers fatally shooting 37-year-old Alton Sterling.

This isn’t the first time that McKesson and other activists have been involved in legal battles in Baton Rouge. Last year, he filed a lawsuit against the city after 200 protesters were arrested during a demonstration that was held to bring awareness to police brutality.

Earlier this week, on the one-year anniversary of Alton Sterling’s death, protesters were reportedly pepper sprayed, tasered and arrested, while holding a demonstration that honored his life.

SOURCE: Reuters

SEE ALSO:

Black Lives Matter Responds To Claims Of A Dying Movement

Baton Rouge Police Arrest Protesters During March Marking Anniversary Of Alton Sterling Killing

 

Lawsuit Filed Against Black Lives Matter Activists Over Baton Rouge Police Shooting  was originally published on newsone.com