In ‘manifesto’, Baton Rouge cop-killer describes actions as ‘necessary evil’ to change US policing

The gunman who ambushed and killed three law enforcement officers in Louisiana purportedly described his actions as a “necessary evil” in a self-described, handwritten manifesto that an Ohio man says was emailed to him by the gunman less than an hour before the shootings.

Photographs of the three-page letter show it was signed by “Cosmo”, the first name of an alias used by Baton Rouge gunman Gavin Long, and the pictures were attached to an email sent from a Google address that Long used.

In the letter, Long said he expected people who knew him wouldn’t believe he would commit “such horrendous acts of violence.” He wrote that he viewed his actions as necessary to “create substantial change within America’s police force.”

The Associated Press obtained the photographs of the letter Wednesday from Yarima Karama, a Columbus, Ohio, musician who said he didn’t know Long personally but received several emails from him after Long began commenting on Karama’s YouTube videos in March.

Metadata reviewed from the three photos indicates they were snapped shortly before 8 am on the day of the shooting using a Motorola Android cellphone, but both photos and time stamps can be modified. The photographs appear to have been taken from inside a car because a gearshift and a cup holder are visible.