police brutality
Louisiana State Police employee on leave after alleged misconduct at LSU
A Louisiana State Police employee was placed on administrative leave last week due to allegations of misconduct while the employee was working with Louisiana State University. The agency made the announcement Wednesday in a press release that provided no details as to the nature of the complaint nor the identity of the employee, saying further […]
Louisiana state police address the public after new allegations of police brutality
Creating a more diverse workforce, increasing consequences for abuse of power and new implicit bias training are the main steps State Police Superintendent Col. Lamar Davis is focusing on, he said at a Friday press conference, as the agency tries to regain the public’s trust after months of media reports alleging the State Police routinely […]
Republicans and Democrats accuse each other of ‘defunding the police’ | Tammy C. Barney
“Defund the police”– a rallying cry during the 2020 protests following the unwarranted deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others at the hands of police – is now a congressional football that Democrats and Republicans keep throwing up as Hail Mary passes without anyone scoring a touchdown. First, Republicans accused Democrats of embracing “defund […]
New police reforms coming to Louisiana
Law enforcement agencies in Louisiana will soon implement several police reforms Gov. John Bel Edwards signed into law after the 2021 regular session. However, during that same session, the Louisiana Legislature killed the most significant piece of legislation proposed by the Legislature’s police reform task force: a bill that would have limited qualified immunity. That […]
Black Caucus asks feds to launch full-scale investigation of Louisiana State Police
Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus leaders announced Tuesday that they will be sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice to request a “top-to-bottom” investigation of Louisiana State Police following a series of high-profile beatings of Black motorists and alleged coverups within the state’s top law enforcement agency, Rep. Ted James, the Baton Rouge Democrat […]
Several police reforms expected despite failure of qualified immunity bill
With the 2021 Regular Legislative Session finished, Louisiana might soon benefit from several police reform bills that lawmakers passed this year even though Republican Senators killed the most critical piece of legislation proposed by the police reform task force — a bill that would have limited qualified immunity. House Bill 609, sponsored by Rep. Edmond […]
La. Republicans block qualified immunity bill, setting aside months of bipartisan work
Republicans in a Louisiana Senate committee on Tuesday blocked Rep. Edmond Jordan’s bill to limit qualified immunity for police officers whose conduct is deemed unreasonable — the legislature’s most critical police reform measure and one that was crafted over the last year by a bipartisan panel that included dozens of experts across multiple fields. House […]
Where were the ‘good’ police when Ronald Greene was being brutalized? | Jarvis DeBerry
During a May 11 debate on the floor of the Louisiana House of Representatives over a bill that would make it easier to sue bad police officers, Rep. Denise Marcelle (D-Baton Rouge), a supporter of the bill, said that about 99.9% of police officers are good. Marcelle was reiterating a point that had previously been […]
Ronald Greene’s family will ‘not stop fighting for justice,’ advocate says
Surviving family members and other advocates for Ronald Greene, who died in the custody of Louisiana State Police officers in May 2019, rallied on the steps of the State Capitol in Baton Rouge Thursday. They demanded that authorities take immediate action against the officers involved in Greene’s death now that a video showing some of […]
Biden urges Congress to act on policing reform after meeting with George Floyd family
WASHINGTON — A year after George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer, his family returned Tuesday to Washington, D.C., where lawmakers have been attempting to craft a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nation’s policing laws. Congress failed to act by the anniversary of Floyd’s death — the deadline that President Joe Biden had urged lawmakers […]
Critical police-reform bill on qualified immunity narrowly passes House
The Louisiana House lawmakers passed a monumental police reform bill Tuesday night that would dismantle the qualified immunity protection that has long shielded police officers from lawsuits when they use unreasonable force that leads to death or serious bodily injury. House Bill 609, sponsored by Rep. Edmond Jordan (D-Baton Rouge), was narrowly approved on the […]
Legislation to reform police ‘bill of rights’ passes Louisiana House
A bill to reform Louisiana’s police officer “bill of rights” narrowly cleared the first half of its legislative journey with House lawmakers approving the measure on Monday. The legislation proposes changes to the way internal affairs investigations are conducted within municipal police departments. House Bill 430, sponsored by Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, was approved […]