NEW ORLEANS — Police frisking in Louisiana’s capital was curbed Friday by a federal judge who said a policy that allows officers in Baton Rouge to conduct such searches on people who have not yet been arrested is “unconstitutional on its face.”
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick came in a lawsuit filed last year alleging police abused — including severe beatings and aggressive searches — of people held in an unidentified warehouse dubbed the “Brave Cave.” The lawsuits led to an ongoing federal civil rights investigation.
The search policy in question allowed officers to strip-search “non-arrested persons based on individually articulated reasonable suspicion” that they might be armed or carrying illegal materials. Citing Supreme Court precedent, Dick said a higher standard — probable cause — is required for a search that goes beyond a frisk or frisk.
In her statement, Dick acknowledged the safety concerns raised by police officials who defended the policy.
“The Court in no way seeks to limit the means available to police officers to achieve this safety,” she wrote. “However, these means must be used and applied in a constitutional manner.”
City officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the first complaints of abuse were filed last year, the city ordered the storage facility closed and the police department disbanded its street crimes unit. One officer resigned and was arrested on a simple assault charge.
Last month, four officer The now-disbanded police unit was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury for covering up the beating of a suspect in custody.