NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana state trooper was arrested Thursday on second-degree battery and malfeasance charges arising from allegations that he used excessive force in 2019.
Trooper Jacob Brown, 30, of Rayville, turned himself in Monroe after state police detectives obtained a warrant, according to online records. A state police news release said the investigation leading to Brown’s arrest began after a lawsuit was filed alleging excessive force involving an unidentified trooper on May 30, 2019.
The release said Brown had been involved in the incident while aiding Ouachita Parish sheriff’s deputies in an arrest. “As the investigation continued, detectives learned that Brown engaged in excessive and unjustifiable actions during the incident and failed to report the use of force to his supervisors,” the statement said.
State police refused to identify the victim.
A lawsuit, now in federal court in Monroe, names state police and multiple law enforcement agencies in Ouachita Parish, including sheriff’s office personnel, the parish Metro Narcotics Unit and the Monroe Police Department, as defendants in connection with a May 30, 2019, beating.
The lawsuit says Aaron Larry Bowman was followed to his house by officers who dragged him from his car and beat and kicked him, resulting in lacerations, a broken arm and broken ribs. While some officers allegedly involved in Bowman’s beating are named in the lawsuit, Bowman’s attorney said she did not know at the time the suit was filed who from state police was involved. She said she had not been contacted by authorities regarding the trooper’s arrest as of Thursday.
Brown has not commented publicly on the incident. Information on the trooper’s attorney was not available from state police or online booking records.
Capt. Chavez Cammon, a state police spokesman, said the trooper had been placed on restricted administrative duty effective Oct. 19. He said State Police began an administrative investigation into the arrest on Oct. 13.
The release on Brown’s arrest was preceded by a message to troopers from the state police superintendent, Col. Lamar Davis. “It is important that you learn of this arrest from me personally. I pledge to support you in your time of need. I also pledge to hold each and every one of us accountable when our actions are not proper,” Davis wrote. “I am asking you to trust the process.”
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