Baton Rouge residents fight unaccountable police re-hiring policy at city council

Baton Rouge, LA – Members of the Baton Rouge community came together at the biweekly Metropolitan Council meeting, August 12, to fight against the approval of the “Police Support Specialist Program,” Baton Rouge Police Department’s (BRPD) dangerous new re-hiring policy. This program allows former law enforcement personnel with a minimum of 20 years of experience to be rehired onto the force to perform ‘non law enforcement duties.’

The BRPD has consistently failed at holding officers accountable, and the conditions for rehiring outlined in the program show an intentional move to put crooked cops back on the force.

“Bringing people back who are trained under [unconstitutional] policies that simply do not operate in today’s world is unfathomable.” said Reverend Alexis Anderson during public comment as she voiced her concerns regarding the proposal.

Reverend Anderson was specifically referencing the 2024 decision by a federal judge that deemed BRPD’s strip search policy unconstitutional. Anderson additionally had concerns that crooked cops could be rehired onto the force, including lying officers on the Brady List, torturers involved in the BRAVE CAVE torture warehouse, criminals involved in narcotics scandals, or other BRPD scandals.

In response to comments from concerned members of the community, BRPD Chief of Police Thomas Morse Jr. weakly stated, “Why would I want to hire somebody like that?” He stated there are no specific provisions to protect against cops involved in these scandals being hired; he only gave empty promises.

The lack of accountability in BRPD policy gives no comfort to frightened community members who have endured decades of abuse by Baton Rouge Police and have witnessed the blatant lack of care that the force has for residents.

Most recently, Stefan Jones, a BRPD officer, resigned after sexual battery charges were filed against him. Jones was not taken off the force despite previous incidents including the falsification of military orders, brandishing a gun at bystanders, and most notably hitting and seriously injuring a bicyclist while on duty. BRPD’s tolerance of Jones’ behavior allowed a dangerous individual to continue working as an armed police officer and put the Baton Rouge community in harm’s way.

While the Metropolitan Council voted to enact the new program, community members remain upset with the lack of transparency around the hiring process and will continue to struggle against BRPD’s attacks.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Reform Collective (EBRPPRC) all gathered at the meeting to stand up for their community and fight back against this threat from the BRPD.

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