The BRPD was formally established in 1865, just after the end of the Civil War, with the appointment of the first Chief of Police.
Police brutality and lawsuits
The BRPD has a history of police brutality against Blacks and strained relations with the black community in Baton Rouge.[3][4] In 2016, two BRPD officers shot and killed Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, while trying to detain him. The police killing lead to protests and demonstrations in Baton Rouge and elsewhere, leading to the arrests of hundreds of individuals.[5][6][7] Due to the violence and arrests that erupted at these protests, local organizing groups and the Louisiana branch of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Baton Route Police Department for violating the First Amendment rights of protesting individuals.[8] Less than two weeks after the killing of Alton Sterling, three BRPD officers were shot and killed by Gavin Eugene Long in a shootout.
In April 2023, Baton Rouge paid $55,000 to settle a place brutality lawsuit involving BRPD officer Troy Lawrence, Jr., the son of Deputy Chief Troy Lawrence, Sr.[9] Lawrence Jr. was also involved in two other lawsuits that Baton Rouge settled for $86,000 and $35,000, respectively, with the latter case involving a child who had his underwear searched in public.[10] Lawrence, Jr. later resigned in August 2023.[9]
In February 2024, a federal lawsuit was filed by Lakeisha Varnado and Tredonovan Raby, alleging that the BRPD violated their constitutional rights after BRPD officer Joseph Carboni strip-searched and sexually assaulted their 11-year-old son following a raid on their home in 2023.[11] The family additionally alleged Varnado herself was strip- and body-cavity-searched, and that one of her other children was put into a holding cell and beaten so hard that he was knocked out by BRPD officer Lorenzo Coleman.[11] The incidents are alleged to have taken place at the so-called "BRAVE Cave," an interrogation facility attached to a police substation informally named after the BRPD Street Crimes Unit, and which rose to national attention following separate lawsuits filed by Jeremy Lee and Ternell Brown alleging abuse by BRPD officers at the facility.[12][13] The FBI subsequently opened a civil rights investigation into the facility,[14] and as of October 2024, 10 separate lawsuits involving the "BRAVE Cave" have been filed.[15]
The Chief of Police is appointed by, and reports to, the Mayor. The Chief is assisted by four Deputy Chiefs who are appointed by The Chief of Police. All other police positions are promotional and based on seniority, as mandated by state civil service law.[16]
.svg){kind=icon}
