State Police: $2.1 million spent on overtime for Baton Rouge protests

BATON ROUGE, LA -JULY 10: People gather to protest the shooting of Alton Sterling on July 10, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling was shot by a police officer in front of the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge on July 5th, leading the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation. (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)

by: WGNO Web Desk

Posted: Jul 27, 2016 / 04:09 PM AST

Updated: Jul 27, 2016 / 04:09 PM AST

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BATON ROUGE (WGNO) – State Police said the agency spent $2.1 million to assist Baton Rouge in the aftermath of the Alton Sterling shooting and the protests that followed.

WBRZ reports that the money was spent on overtime, and it doesn’t cover the cost of the reinforcement that State Police sent to Baton Rouge after Gavin Long shot six officers a week later, killing three of them.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves told WBRZ that he’s working to secure $650,000 in federal funds to help.

Baton Rouge Police and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office did not have numbers yet on how much they spent to cover the protests and the aftermath of the police shooting.

“As State Troopers, as police officers, public safety is our primary focus, not cost,” Trooper Jared Sandifer told WBRZ. “We will work regardless what that cost is, with that in mind we are mindful of the resources that we use.”