A set of lawsuits has been filed against the Baton Rouge Police Department, some of its officers, and the city. These lawsuits reveal shocking allegations of physical abuse, torture, and sexual humiliation by police officers against Black individuals in custody.
These lawsuits, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, were filed by Ternell Brown and Jeremy Lee in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Both complaints provide details of heinous abuse within a location referred to as the “Brave Cave,” which is described as a “torture warehouse” or ‘black site.” It was where certain Baton Rouge officers took detainees, cut off their communication with the outside world, denied them legal counsel, and then subjected them to physical beatings.
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The officers named in these suits include former officer Troy Lawrence, Jr., Matthew Wallace, Joseph Carboni, and Police Chief Murphy Paul. Brown’s suit also mentions an unnamed female officer. The suits claim that not only did the officers and top brass know about the warehouse’s use for detainee abuse, but they also made coordinated efforts to shield knowledge of its existence.
In Jeremy Lee’s case, he recounts how Officers Lawrence and Wallace apprehended him without probable cause in January, brought him to the warehouse, and then subjected him to severe beatings, resulting in injuries that required hospital treatment.
While in custody, all the officers involved turned off their body-worn cameras. They proceeded to handcuff Lee, force him to the ground, and humiliatingly removed his pants to search him. Both officers verbally abused Lee during this ordeal.
When Lee asked why he was detained, Officer Wallace responded, ‘Because I said so.’ After the unnecessary and illegal strip search, Lee was taken to the ‘Brave Cave,’ where he was subjected to further physical abuse.
Footage from the body camera shows officers restraining Lee on a paved street, and during their search, they pull down his pants. At a certain moment, one of the officers threatens to use force, saying, “I’m about to bat the living crap out of you,” in an attempt to prevent Lee from resisting. Lee, in response, denies resisting and challenges the officer by saying, “bat me then.”
There are striking similarities between Lee’s case and that of Ternell Brown. Brown, a grandmother, was also detained by Officers Lawrence and Wallace in June. Her complaint alleges an unjustified traffic stop, an illegal body cavity search, and an invasive examination by flashlight, all without any contraband or weapons found.
Once officers were satisfied, they released her. She and her husband filed a complaint at the BRPD headquarters, where they were told that “the officers had done nothing wrong and that her treatment was proper.”
Each lawsuit also details other unlawful detainments and beatings conducted by the same officers mentioned in the complaints and summarizes Officer Lawrence’s violent history. Before Lawrence resigned, he had reportedly been suspended from duty multiple times for numerous infractions involving violence with Baton Rouge citizens.
One day after news of the “Brave Cave” became public, the Baton Rouge mayor shut the facility down, and Lawrence resigned on the same day. The FBI also opened a civil rights investigation to examine whether members of the police department ‘abused their authority.’
Both Brown and Lee are demanding a trial by jury and seek compensatory and punitive damages.
