BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Police Chief is calling the report that suggests a potential merging of the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office (EBRSO), ‘dangerous’ and a report that lacks factual basis.
UWK was the first to report on the study in August.
“I think that the release of this report is extremely dangerous. I got 952 to 1,000 employees looking at me, wondering if they’re going to lose their job. I have multiple citizens of the City of Baton Rouge looking to me saying, ‘Hey, what does that mean for us in our policing’,” BRPD Chief TJ Morse told UWK. “It comes to these conclusions without any factual basis, and the conclusion it comes to is the elimination the Baton Rouge Police Department.”
Chief Morse says when he and roughly 10 BRPD officers participated in a study for 21st century policing, he did not realize what he was getting himself into at that time. For over an hour, he says the group provided BRPD’s policies and statistics, but when he received the report on Oct. 30th, he says there were “a lot of factual inconsistencies in the report.”
“There’s a lot of things in the report that I didn’t agree with, but there was some things that were just factually wrong. We provided the corrections to SafeBR, and then getting a copy of the final report, to see that some of those factual corrections were not implemented, was very concerning and disappointing,” he said.
“I think the timing of it, the fact that it leaves so many questions and problems, the way it was written, is almost that it is a ‘Hey, we want this to happen, so let’s try to find reasons to make it happen’ instead of is this even a good idea in the first place? I want to say I was never consulted about whether this should be implemented or not, ever. The two meetings I went to about this were just recently in the past month, and I wasn’t even invited to those meetings. I just showed up so that my voice could be heard,” Chief Morse added. When UWK asked Chief Morse earlier this year about the potential merger, he indicated he was unaware of any discussions on the matter.
UWK reported on the potential merging of BRPD with EBRSO in-depth in early August, but the official report was just released on Oct. 30th to leaders in Baton Rouge including Chief Morse, council members and others. It’s a subject matter that has surfaced repeatedly over the years but never gained full traction, until now, due to significant challenges.
Previous discussions, including studies under former Mayor-President Kip Holden, ultimately faltered. However, recent developments suggest this time might be different. Over the past several months, UWK has spoken to numerous sources who indicate that what began as a casual discussion has now evolved into something much more substantial.
Proposal: Dissolve BRPD
East Baton Rouge Metro-Councilwoman Laurie Adams confirmed to UWK in August 2024 that all council members were originally expected to receive the report on August 28, 2024, nearly two months prior to the official release. The report was commissioned and presented by SafeBR, a collaboration of public, private and nonprofit leaders in the Capital City. SafeBR’s primary goal is “reducing violent crime through vision-forward law enforcement practices, a streamlined judiciary system, and community-based intervention,” according to its website.
The commissioned report outlines the logistics of the proposed “merger.” However, despite the terminology, this would not involve a straightforward merging of BRPD & EBRSO into a single “Metro Department.” Instead, UWK has learned that the proposal under consideration would involve dissolving the Baton Rouge Police Department entirely. Current BRPD officers would be asked to apply for positions with EBRSO if they wish to continue serving in law enforcement within the parish.
“I don’t know why the money and time was spent to look at a report like this when there’s a lot of other ways we could have spent time and resources to solve the crime issue instead of this eliminating the Baton Rouge Police Department altogether,” said a frustrated Chief Morse.
“This is everybody getting together and talking about how. Law enforcement issues are complex across the board. They’re complex because you’re dealing with people on every side of this issue. I know that it’s going to take lots and lots of conversation, lots of listening, and lots of working together if we’re going to turn the tide of crime in this parish,” said Councilwoman Adams.
Merging BRPD & EBRSO “would take years to implement”
The proposed consolidation has sparked strong opinions on both sides of the debate.
“It’s where everyone seems to think we need to go. They believe it is the answer,” said former Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade. “But this would take years to implement due to the legal complexities. It would consolidate power into one individual. If that person is right for the job, great—if not, it’s a huge problem. Neither former Chief Greg Phares nor I think it’s a good idea.”
Councilwoman Adams offered a more supportive view: “Talking about it and looking at how we’re utilizing resources, people, funds, and how to increase efficiency and effectiveness—yes, I’m for it 100%. I think if leaders aren’t studying ways to make things better at all times, then we are failing the people that we represent. Are there any specific measures that I’m behind at this moment? Absolutely not. In my mind, this is us opening up a conversation, which means talking, listening, and thinking.”
How the “merger” could affect the public
Currently, when someone in East Baton Rouge Parish (excluding Baker, Central & Zachary) calls 911, either BRPD or EBRSO responds, depending on whether the caller is within Baton Rouge city limits or the unincorporated areas of the parish.
Under the proposed consolidation, EBRSO would handle all calls within city limits in addition to their current areas. However, given existing staff shortages in both agencies, this could lead to longer response times and reduced law enforcement presence.
“We handle more than two times the amount of calls that the sheriff’s office currently handles. Where are those employees going to come from to handle those calls?” asked Chief Morse. “So how does it affect response times if the sheriff’s office is now responsible for all the calls inside the city as well? I think that is a huge question, and I have no idea what that would be, because I don’t even know how the sheriff’s office goes about staffing to be able to answer those calls.”
As of April 1, 2024, BRPD reported having 569 officers, short of their full allotment of 698. EBRSO, which requires 892 deputies to be fully staffed, had 782 deputies as of June 30, 2024.
With BRPD officers responding to approximately 130,000 calls in 2023 and EBRSO handling about 69,000, a consolidated agency would need to address nearly 200,000 calls annually with less than 1,400 officers and deputies combined. This figure assumes all current BRPD officers would transition to EBRSO.
Impact on current BRPD officers
Dissolving BRPD could significantly disrupt officers’ career paths, including their retirement plans. For example, an officer with 22 years of service at BRPD, who planned to retire after 25 years, might face uncertainty about their retirement benefits. Questions also arise about whether officers would retain their current ranks if they transitioned to EBRSO, or if they would need to restart their careers at the very bottom.
Specialized divisions, such as Homicide, could see further complications. An officer leading a division at BRPD might lose their position since EBRSO already has its own division leaders.
Moreover, BRPD officers currently enjoy protections through unions and civil service. If disciplined, they can appeal to civil service and receive union-provided legal representation. EBRSO, on the other hand, operates as an “at-will” employer, offering no such protections.
“The report assumes that every employee of the Baton Rouge Police Department would then be hired on by the sheriff’s office. That’s a huge assumption, an assumption without any kind of facts or proof. You know, if the employees of the Baton Rouge Police Department wanted to work for the sheriff’s office, they would already work for the Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office is over 100 officers short. So they could go work there right now, if they wanted to do that. But the cultures are different, the benefits are different, the retirement systems are different. They want to work for the Baton Rouge Police Department and if the Baton Rouge Police Department ceased to exist, which this report calls for, I don’t think that those officers are then automatically applying for the sheriff’s office. So where is the sheriff going to get all of these employees to handle the calls?,” said Chief Morse.
Morale also plays a role in both BRPD and EBRSO and Chief Morse says the released report suggesting merging is a slap in the face to any and all employees at the police department.
“These men and women of Baton Rouge Police Department, everybody from civilians to our non-sworn personnel and dispatch and fingerprints all the way to our sworn officers, are now saying, ‘Wow, chief, does this mean that they’re trying to get rid of my job?’ And then also the the assumptions this report makes is that the sheriff’s office would do a better job than the Baton Rouge Police Department. So it is saying, ‘Hey, not only that you might lose your job,’ but it’s also saying, ‘The job you’re doing right now is not good enough.’ So it’s a really kick in the teeth for the men and women of the police department,” added Chief Morse.
Recruitment and retention are additional concerns. Given the challenges law enforcement agencies face nationwide—low pay, high risk—some officers may choose to leave the profession altogether rather than join a consolidated agency.
Financial implications of the consolidation
EBRSO is funded through property taxes, while BRPD receives its funding from the city-parish’s annual budget. This distinction allows EBRSO to operate independently, whereas BRPD is accountable to the metro-council and mayor-president. The sheriff, an elected official, leads EBRSO, while BRPD’s police chief is appointed by the mayor-president.
With the newly formed City of St. George taking 2% of the budget from East Baton Rouge Parish, amounting to $48.3 million annually as of 2017, sources close to the report tell UWK that there are questions about whether the consolidation is a strategy to offset this financial loss.
The cost of consolidation itself is another concern. EBRSO would need additional vehicles, uniforms, and equipment for the increased personnel.
What’s Next in ‘merging’ BRPD & EBRSO?
The EBR metro-council will decide if it should be placed on the ballot for a public vote, allowing East Baton Rouge Parish residents to decide the outcome.
“This is one situation where you bring in a group to examine every aspect—the good, the bad, and the ugly—of consolidation. The legislature would need to be heavily involved. There would be one chance to get this right, but the parish would likely be divided,” said Chief Englade.
EBRSO Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, when reached in March 2024, expressed skepticism about the feasibility of such a consolidation or merging with BRPD.
“With so many financial and legal obstacles, in addition to the two agencies’ completely different setups and cultures, I don’t see this consolidation being successful. I fear the whole parish could suffer if something is forced onto officers and deputies,” Sheriff Gautreaux said.
Chief Englade added, “You have to consider why people think this needs to happen. Is it personal or practical? With four additional municipalities in EBR—Zachary, Baker, Central, and St. George—would you exclude them from a consolidation? Is it practical to have five different law enforcement agencies in one parish, plus LSU and Southern police departments? The sheriff might welcome the possibility, but the police will resist it. That’s my perspective, but it only scratches the surface of the challenges involved in such a consolidation.”
UWK reached out to SafeBR in August 2024 at the time of publication of the original article and again on Oct. 31.
“SafeBR is not advocating a consolidation. Simply published a report we were asked to do by public leaders. What SafeBR does want to push, is that doing nothing is not an option anymore. Attached is the presentation made at the coalition meeting,” said Nial Patel with SafeBR.
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