Baton Rouge Police Department
The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) (French: Département de Police de Bâton Rouge) is the primary law enforcement agency in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Chief of Police, as of March 8, 2018, was Murphy Paul.
| Baton Rouge Police Department | |
|---|---|
Patch of the BRPD | |
BRPD Badge | |
| Abbreviation | BRPD |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1865 |
| Employees | 887 |
| Annual budget | $95.8 million (2022) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA |
| Map of Baton Rouge Police Department's jurisdiction | |
| Size | 79.1 sq mi (205 km2). |
| Population | 227,071 (2021) |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | 9000 Airline Hwy. Baton Rouge, LA 70815 |
| Police Officers | 645 |
| Unsworn members | 267 |
| Agency executive |
|
| Facilities | |
| Districts | 5 |
| Airbases | 1 |
| Website | |
| https://www.brla.gov/2706/Police-Department | |
The BRPD was formally established in 1865, just after the end of the Civil War, with the appointment of the first Chief of Police.
The BRPD has a history of police brutality against Blacks and strained relations with the black community in Baton Rouge. Most recently, in 2016, two BRPD officers shot and killed Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, while trying to detain him. The police killing lead to protests and demonstrations in Baton Rouge and elsewhere, leading to the arrests of hundreds of individuals. Due to the violence and arrests that erupted at these protests, local organizing groups and the Louisiana branch of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Baton Route Police Department for violating the First Amendment rights of protesting individuals. Less than two weeks after the killing of Alton Sterling, three BRPD officers were shot and killed by Gavin Eugene Long in a shootout.