This shooting was different. It was personal for former Broncos cornerback Taurean Nixon. He knew Alton Sterling, the 37-year-old black man killed in Baton Rouge in early July by two white police officers. The “CD man” was a fixture in his hometown, known for helping up-and-coming artists get into the music industry and someone Nixon had talked with many times.
Officers responded to a call of a man brandishing a gun at people. They detained Sterling, believing he was the suspect, and eventually tased, pinned and shot him multiple times. In the aftermath, Nixon was careful not to say much publicly about the incident.