Baton Rouge Police Suspended Over Alleged Torture Warehouse Probe

Three officers from the Baton Rouge Police Department, including Deputy Chief Troy Lawrence, have been suspended from duty to facilitate ongoing investigations into allegations of a police-operated “torture warehouse” in Louisiana, known infamously as the Brave Cave.

Deputy Chief Lawrence, a senior official of the department, is among the three presently suspended. His son, former officer Troy Lawrence Jr., is at the heart of a federal lawsuit implicating him in savage and indecent interrogation methods employed at the clandestine warehouse. Lawrence Jr., who has since left the police force, was apprehended and charged with an unrelated incident of battery some time ago.

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Chief Murphy Paul solemnly assured the community of accountability at a recent city council gathering. “Our probe will result in the level of responsibility and accountability the community rightfully expects,” he stated.

Deputy Chief Lawrence’s counsel remains silent on the issue as investigations into the department’s practices and the now-defunct warehouse facility loom. These include inquiries by the FBI and Baton Rouge Police Department, Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome confirmed. The mayor spoke passionately about a shared commitment to accountability, justice, and reform.

The police department finds itself in the crosshair of numerous lawsuits, all tied to alleged officers’ conduct at the warehouse. This year’s complaints depict officers cruelly refereeing the locale as the “brave cave.” It is alleged that detainees at the facility were subject to physical abuse and strip searches.

The warehouse, formerly acknowledged as the Narcotics Processing Facility, was permanently shut, and the Street Crimes Unit Officers disbanded and redeployed within the force, a prior statement from the police department indicated.

In one lawsuit, a Baton Rouge grandmother, Ternell Brown, alleges she was halted by officers while car travelling with her husband in June. The complaint details her forced humiliation of proving she harbored no contraband within her body, despite lawfully carrying prescription pills. She was released, uncharged, after over two hours of ordeal.

Another complaint alleges a Baton Rouge resident, Jeremy Lee, also suffered abuse at the warehouse this January. His detention was without reasonable suspicion, the lawsuit contends, detailing public indecent exposure as part of the search process, and denial of arrest reason.

Jessica F. Hawkins, the attorney representing both plaintiffs, claims she regularly receives calls from Baton Rouge residents subjected to unlawful strip searches at this notorious site. She calls for thorough and proper investigation to hold accountable those who performed these horrifying acts.

The Baton Rouge Union of Police voiced discomfort and surprise at the action against Lawrence, especially based on an incident reportedly occurred over three years prior.

Meanwhile, the FBI stated that it is investigating potential abuses of authority by the Baton Rouge Police Department.

Ex-officer Lawrence, Jr., now faces a misdemeanor charge after bodycam footage demonstrated his use of a Taser on a handcuffed person inside a patrol car this August, according to a Baton Rouge Police statement.