BATON ROUGE, La. — Baton Rouge police officers have been accused of excessive force in the past, including an April incident in which a police sergeant allegedly beat a black 16-year-old in the head during an Earth Day event, and two federal civil rights lawsuits that cost the department nearly $300,000.
BRPD Sgt. Todd Bourgoyne was placed on leave in April and an internal investigation was launched after a video allegedly showed him beating Ja'Colby Davis in the head while other officers held him down, according to media reports at the time.
Police claimed that several violent incidents occurred at the Earth Day event.
The mother of the McKinley High School student told The Rouge Collection that a fight broke out while Davis and his younger brother were at the Earth Day event. Police tried to keep bystanders away from the fight and asked the teens to move back. She said they complied, but a police officer grabbed Davis' arm to push him away. When Davis asked why he was being grabbed, the police officer, she alleged, threw him to the ground where he was held by five officers while the sergeant hit him in the head.
The Daily Advertiser found several federal civil rights lawsuits have been filed in the past decade against the Baton Rouge Police Department alleging excessive force.
One officer, Robert J. Moruzzi, was the subject of two federal lawsuits accusing him of excessive force. The incidents occurred in 2013 and 2014.
In June 2014, Moruzzi was one of approximately 20 law enforcement officers who kicked down the door to a home and pointed machine guns at Brett Percle and others inside, ordering them to lie on the ground. Percle claimed he complied but one officer kicked him in the back of the neck and shoulders and "curb stomped" his face into the floor, knocking out and chipping some of his teeth.
That case was settled for $51,412, according to federal court documents.
In 2013, Moruzzi allegedly used a Taser on Jed Bricker twice in his home after the man refused medical attention. His lawsuit was dismissed.
In another excessive force case involving Baton Rouge police officers, a jury awarded Brian Townsend $239,000. Townsend alleged that in March 2007, Nathan Davis tackled Townsend so hard that he suffered a ruptured bladder. Davis was fired. Police had been called to Townsend's house because of a loud music complaint.
Follow Claire Taylor on Twitter: @ClaireTaylorTDA
