70°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

Some question why BRPD officer wasn't ticketed after causing crash

7 years 4 months 1 week ago Monday, November 14 2016 Nov 14, 2016 November 14, 2016 4:31 PM November 14, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE- A Baton Rouge Police officer who has only been with the department for a little over a year received no ticket after slamming into another Baton Rouge Police unit which caused a chain reaction crash Friday night.

Tonight, some are questioning why.

State Representative C. Denise Marcelle is an outspoken critic of the Baton Rouge Police Department when issues arise.

"Officers should be treated the same way as citizens, and if there was careless operation than they should have been ticketed," Marcelle said.

What is also concerning to Marcelle is that an outside agency did not come in to investigate.

"The fact that you investigate yourself is an issue," Marcelle said. "I believe an outside agency should investigate those types of incidents when it involves a police officer. It gives a sense of transparency to the public and the public has a better feel for what's going on."

The Baton Rouge Police Department has acknowledged the officer was distracted. A spokesman said this weekend the officer looked down at his computer before the crash. That officer could temporarily lose his vehicle or get days off. However, the matter is still under investigation and none of those decisions have been made yet.

Criminal Justice Instructor Paul Guidry believes the public should not be alarmed.

"I don't want the public to feel like they are walking away scott free because they are still going to have to deal with the internal affairs situation which is a whole different realm as well," Guidry said.

We requested any prior incidents this officer was involved in since he's been with the Baton Rouge Police Department. We never got a response back.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days