Sgt. John Dauthier has dropped his requests for investigation into the Baton Rouge Police Chief, Murphy Paul to avoid a conflict of interest.
Sgt. Dauthier was recently elected by his BRPD peers to represent officers on the Civil Service Board, the same board that would have been investigating the claims.
Sgt. Dauthier accused Chief Paul of violating criminal law and departmental policy in early 2021.
The officer made a formal complaint to Chief Paul alleging multiple policy violations by members of the Internal Affairs division.
By law, the chief was required to launch an investigation into the allegations. However, he did not do that.
“He failed his obligation under the law to initiate an investigation. The reason I believe that is because he basically told me he wasn’t going to in his reply to me and a public records request that I made much later after all the deadlines had passed confirmed that no record of any such investigation occurred,” said Dauthier in a public hearing in April 2021.
In the other complaint, Sgt. Dauthier alleged that Chief Paul lied in two separate affidavits relating to discipline to the Civil Service Board.
On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, Sgt. Dauthier sent a letter to the chairman of the Municipal Fire & Police Civil Service Board, Brandon Williams, saying he was dropping those requests. (Story continues below)
“Given John’s election to the board & the current circumstances in the city. He feels it better to forego the board’s investigation that he requested and try to move forward and do what he can to work with this chief to refocus the Baton Rouge Police Department’s mission on fighting crime,” said Sgt. Dauthier’s attorney Cliff Ivey.
When asked if dropping the investigation means your client believes the chief did not do wrong, Ivey said, “John believes the claims he raised have merit and continues to feel that way. In the spirit of the Easter season, let’s all rise anew. Tomorrow is a new day and move forward, maybe not forget the past but move past it and do what the Baton Rouge Police Dept. is supposed to do.”
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