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Disgraced trooper exposed by WBRZ wants to stay on payroll, demands investigation into LSP leaks
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BATON ROUGE - Fresh out of jail from two arrests in different parishes for using excessive force, Trooper Jacob Brown appeared in Baton Rouge Thursday morning with bold requests for the State Police Commission.
Brown and his attorney asked the commission to have him reinstated, and they wanted an investigation launched into the leaks that have been coming from Louisiana State Police. Ultimately, the commission denied their request by not even entertaining it.
Click here to watch the report live on News 2 at 6:00
Brown's attorney, Scott Wolleson, has not been happy with the reporting by the WBRZ Investigative Unit involving his clients.
"Mr. Brown was arrested Monday, and before we reached the jail WBRZ was already reporting the arrest," Wolleson said. "Christopher Hollingsworth was suspended and received notice he was going to be terminated. I was involved in that. As we know there were 17 seconds of audio released to WBRZ that has now been quoted in national news around the country."
Hollingsworth was also exposed by WBRZ after he admitted to beating Ronald Greene to death in the Monroe area. Initially, state troopers had told Greene's family he died in a fender bender following a chase.
Brown is charged in three different excessive force incidents that occurred over the past two years. The WBRZ Investigative Unit exposed this week that training academy documents suggested that he should have been kicked out for lying twice. Brown graduated the 2015 academy. His father was the former Chief of Staff for Louisiana State Police before he retired last year. Brown refused to answer questions about the excessive force incidents he was involved in as he exited the hearing.
"He did not pass the smell test," Belinda Brown with the Louisiana United International, Inc. said. "How did he become an officer?"
Arrest documents obtained by WBRZ show the lies Brown told in the academy have now spilled over into his work. Brown's most recent arrest records show he was untruthful with a story he told about a handcuffed subject. The arrest warrant noted the force that he used was unnecessary.
State Police Colonel Lamar Davis weighed in.
"We received some information and a complaint," Colonel Davis said, "Based upon that, we went through the investigation which led to the arrests of those troopers."
Four troopers, including Brown, were arrested Monday for those excessive force incidents. They occurred between 2019 and 2020.
"In this position, you don't set out to investigate any of your personnel or make arrests of any of your personnel," Davis said. "That's one of the toughest things I've ever had to do."
Davis said he wants the public to know that, while he's in charge, restoring the public's trust is his priority.
"We have great people, and we are out there doing the right thing," Davis said. "If they are not, we will hold them accountable."
State Police administration told the commission Thursday that Trooper Jacob Brown had exhausted all of his paid administrative leave hours. The commission allowed Brown to begin using his annual leave which amounts to nearly six months of pay as the investigation into his actions continues.
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