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Bunkie Police officer one of two arrested for battery charges

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Posted at 6:24 PM, Mar 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-24 21:36:00-04

HAMMOND, La. — A Bunkie Police officer has resigned after he and a Tangipahoa Sheriff's deputy were arrested following an incident last week in Hammond involving giving alcohol to a juvenile girl.

Deputy Kasey Jackson and Bunkie Police Department Auxiliary Officer Corey Champagne were both charged with simple battery after a night drinking at a home in Hammond in which the two men offered money to the juvenile girl and her of-age friend to strip for them, according to The Advocate.

According to an arrest report from the Tangipahoa Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to Jackson's home after receiving a report of two intoxicated girls at the residence.

One of the girls was a juvenile who told deputies that, as they drank together, Jackson and Champagne offered her and her friend "money to strip for them," according to the report.

The report states that the juvenile girl then said she went to the bathroom and called some friends to pick her up from the house because she was uncomfortable with the situation.

Jackson and Champagne disputed the statements when questioned by detectives, the newspaper reports.

Jackson was fired by the sheriff's office following his arrest, TPSO Chief of Operations James Travis told The Advocate.

Champagne had been working part-time for the Bunkie Police Department, but was placed on administrative leave after BPD was made aware of his arrest and resigned Tuesday.

BPD Chief Scott Ferguson said Champagne's arrest was "disturbing" in a statement released Wednesday on its Facebook page.

"As an adult, decisions are made, good and bad, which will forever affect your life," Ferguson said in the statement. "Police Officers and their Auxiliary Partners are held to higher standards of behavior and should be. Bad decisions bring about bad results."

No additional charges are pending against the two men, Travis told the newspaper.

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