BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A police officer is appealing his suspension over a deadly confrontation with Alton Sterling, a black man whose shooting death set off widespread protests in Baton Rouge nearly two years ago.

In a petition filed last Thursday, an attorney for Officer Howie Lake asked a civil service board to rescind his three-day suspension from the Baton Rouge Police Department. Police Chief Murphy Paul suspended Lake and fired Blane Salamoni, the officer who shot and killed Sterling outside a convenience store in July 2016.

Lake helped wrestle Sterling to the ground but didn't fire his gun that night. Last week, Salamoni separately appealed his firing. Lake served the suspension and returned to work earlier this month for the first time since the shooting. Both officers had been on paid leave.