Baton Rouge, LA

The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) has paid $5.705 million in documented police misconduct settlements from 2016 to 2023. The dataset is anchored by the $4.5 million settlement paid in 2021 to the family of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man shot and killed by BRPD officers outside a convenience store on July 5, 2016.

The Sterling killing was captured on multiple videos and triggered national protests. Officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II responded to a report of a man selling CDs who had allegedly brandished a gun. The officers pinned Sterling to the ground; Salamoni shot him six times at close range. The DOJ opened a pattern-or-practice investigation in 2016 but closed it without action in 2017. Louisiana's attorney general also declined to bring state charges. Salamoni was fired in 2018 following an internal investigation; Lake II resigned.

A second settlement of $1.17 million was paid in 2023 to fourteen protesters who alleged BRPD officers used excessive force and violated civil rights during demonstrations following Sterling's death. The lawsuit was settled during a federal trial, with officers accused of using aggressive tactics against demonstrators including journalists.

For insurance underwriters, the Baton Rouge dataset illustrates the actuarial risk of departments where high-profile incidents generate cascading liability: the primary wrongful death settlement ($4.5M) was followed by protest-related settlements ($1.17M) arising from the community response to the original incident. The absence of a consent decree means the department continues to operate without external oversight requirements despite a documented pattern of excessive force.