I-TEAM: Review of BRPD cover-up case expected to take ‘months;’ restraining order could remain in place
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - District Attorney Hillar Moore expects his office will need several months to decide whether to bring criminal charges against multiple Baton Rouge police officers accused of covering up a 2020 use of force incident.
Moore previously told WAFB that the review had been stalled for some time as he waited on Baton Rouge Police Department officials to hand over files related to the investigation. He also pointed out matters related to staff in his office that needed to be addressed before the review could continue.
At the same time, disciplinary hearings for those four officers could again be put on hold at the request of their defense attorneys. A hearing scheduled for Thursday, March 14, could be canceled after defense attorney Kyle Kershaw informed the court that all parties agreed to extend a temporary restraining order that bars BRPD from taking any disciplinary action against the officers, according to clerk notes.
The defense attorneys objected to the officers facing any discipline before Moore had a chance to decide whether to move forward with criminal charges. They argued that after Moore completes his review, the officers could be cleared of wrongdoing, but would have already been subjected to discipline that could impact their careers.
The officers Troy Lawrence Sr., Jesse Barcelona, Todd Thomas, and Doug Chustz were arrested in September of 2023 on various charges stemming from the alleged cover-up of a violent strip search in 2020.
A district judge had already agreed to issue a temporary restraining order blocking BRPD from disciplining the officers after defense attorneys argued that BRPD’s legal team ignored scheduling conflicts and delayed handing over hours of audio and dozens of files until hours before disciplinary hearings were set to begin.
At the hearing Thursday, Judge Richard “Chip” Moore could hear arguments to consider making that restraining order permanent, essentially blocking BRPD from taking any action against those officers before the criminal case had made its way through the court system. It’s unclear whether the parties will still need to appear before the judge if all parties have already settled the matter. A clerk in judge Moore’s office told WAFB that Kershaw would need to file officials documents with the court to make sure that the order stays in place, but that had not been done yet.
A spokesman with the Baton Rouge Police Department confirmed the four officers are still on administrative leave.
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