How NBA YoungBoy’s gun arrest and BRPD federal probe are linked
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - In September of 2020, Baton Rouge police officers swarmed an abandoned lot on Chippewa Street where rapper NBA YoungBoy and a dozen other men were filming a music video and allegedly showing off guns.
The alleged misconduct that followed led to the arrest of four officers and is part of an ongoing federal investigation surrounding the Baton Rouge Police Department’s (BRPD) Street Crimes Unit.
RELATED: NBA YoungBoy ‘not guilty,’ attorneys say following arrest of 16 on drug, gun charges
Police documents reviewed by the WAFB I-Team revealed that one of the men taken away from the lot on Chippewa with YoungBoy is the suspect allegedly beaten by an officer and threatened with a taser at BRPD’s First District Precinct near Plank Road.
In fall of 2023, former Chief of Police Murphy Paul and East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome revealed that several officers including former BRPD Deputy Chief Troy Lawrence Sr. allegedly worked in concert to get rid of any evidence that the beating had ever happened.
According to police documents, one of the officers activated their department issued taser as they were attempting to force the man to comply with a strip search.
By activating the taser, the officer unknowingly activated his body camera, the chief said. One of the officers was filmed hitting the man which caused suspected drugs to fall from the man’s body, Paul said.
According to arrest records, Lawrence Sr. allegedly worked with other officers to get rid of the footage by stealing the body camera.
A whistleblower informed top brass at BRPD about the incident in August of 2023. After a brief investigation, Troy Lawrence Sr. was arrested along with officers Jesse Barcelona, Todd Thomas, and Douglas Chustz.
Hillar Moore, District Attorney for the 19th Judicial District, is currently reviewing the cases. He expects it will be months before he is able to say whether the cases should move forward in the criminal court.
As for NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, he was searched separately and taken to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a slew of charges. Federal prosecutors later indicted Gaulden.
A federal judge was allowing Gaulden to serve his pre-trial house arrest in Utah but is now scheduling a hearing to consider revoking the rapper’s bond after he was arrested for prescription drug fraud, among other charges.
A spokesman for the Baton Rouge Police Department told the I-Team he had no comment because the incident is still under investigation and is the subject of pending litigation.
Click here to report a typo.
Copyright 2024 WAFB. All rights reserved.
