By the time the Metro Council takes up measures on police reform again, the Nov. 8 primary election will have come and gone. At its meeting Wednesday, the council once again deferred—this time until after the Nov. 9 meeting—proposals aimed at reforming policing in Baton Rouge.
But Gary Chambers, publisher of The Rouge Collection and a proponent of police reform, said voters couldn’t wait to find out where the current elected officials stand on the issue.
“This should be a discussion that voters know where people stand before the election. If you defer for 30 days this becomes an issue that we can table and dance around for four years,” Chambers told the council. “Voters need to know where you all stand on these issues and that is critically important.”
Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie said discussions about the proposed reforms are ongoing, adding he would like to move toward making a final decision on them sooner than later.
“It’s time to hash things out. We still have some areas that we agree to disagree on,” he said. “Some time would help, but I tend to agree with Mr. Chambers. I think as quickly as we can to get this done, we need to get it.”
The crowded mayoral race will likely be decided on the Dec. 10 runoff election, but it’s possible a number of the 9 open Metro Council seats will be decided during the primary. Two council members—Donna Collins Lewis and Trae Welch—have already won re-election because they drew no opponents. Dr. Rani Whitfield, who challenged Chandler Loupe for the District 3 seat, will still appear on the Nov. 8 ballot even though Whitfield has ended his campaign.
Ryan Heck and John Delgado, who’s running for mayor, are not seeking reelection to the council.
The police reforms proposed by councilwoman Chauna Banks include establishing a residency requirement for officers hired after the start of next year; giving officers a minimum 10% pay increase next year; establishing residency incentive pay; creating a citizen task force on policing; hiring a consultant to help with minority recruitment; and creating an auto usage policy for officers.
It was Banks who asked for deferment at Wednesday’s meeting. Banks offered the deferral after some council members—John Delgado, Trae Welch, Scott Wilson, Buddy Amoroso and Joel Boé—voted to delete the residency requirement proposal from the agenda. The vote failed. It took two tries to get the residency requirement and other accompanying items deferred. Most council members were in favor of deferring all the items together. The deferral passed with an 8-3 vote. Boé, Wilson and Amoroso voted against it. Loupe was absent.
For months now, Banks has been pushing for a residency requirement for Baton Rouge police officers. She first placed the proposal before the council after 37-year-old Alton Sterling was killed by police in front of a North Foster Drive convenience store in July.
The residency requirement was taken up again Wednesday after having been deferred for 45 days. The latest deferral will allow council members to gather additional information. An Oct. 29 community meeting on policing will also take place before the council revisits the proposals.
In other business Wednesday, the council OK’d creating a number of trailer park sites for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which intends to place temporary housing on them for flood victims.
—Alexandria Burris
