This report provides an overview of use-of-force incidents reported by the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) during 2025. Over this one-year period, BRPD officers were involved in 372 use-of-force incidents involving at least 393 civilians. Black residents were involved in nearly 9 of 10 force incidents (86.6% of those with known race) despite making up about 49% of the city’s driving-age population. Most civilians (92%) were not armed. Incidents peaked during late-night hours and showed seasonal variation, with the highest months in May, November, and August. Some records contain data entry errors, including 15 records with implausible ages, and 40 incidents with no address recorded.

This report analyzes 25 use-of-force incidents involving 30 students documented by the Slidell Police Department at St. Tammany Parish public schools between January 2021 and April 2025. These incidents were identified by filtering the Slidell Police Department’s (Slidell PD) agency-reported use-of-force dataset for cases that took place on school premises and identified juveniles as the subject of force. Force incidents at schools have sharply declined in recent years, dropping from 24 incidents in 2021-2022 to just 6 incidents in 2023-2025. Black (listed as African American in Slidell Police Department records) students were the subject of 26 of the 30 (86.7%) incidents. Male and female students were represented almost equally. Half of all documented incidents (15 of 30) occurred at a single school, Slidell High School. In most documented incidents—between 19 and 21 of 30, depending on which field of the source records is used—officers documented that the student was arrested in some capacity. The most common charge recorded was a variant of Disturbing the Peace. Four students (13%) were reported as injured. The records describe each documented use of force as having been internally reviewed by Slidell PD and found to be “in accordance with Slidell Police Department Policy.”

This report provides a descriptive overview of use-of-force incidents reported by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office (STPSO) from 2022 through 2025. Over this four-year period, STPSO documented 754 unique individuals subjected to force. The reported incidents took place in both street enforcement encounters, as well as in the St. Tammany Parish jail. The most common types of force used were hands-on techniques and verbal commands, which together accounted for more than three-quarters of all force applications. Most individuals subjected to force were male (77.5%) and between the ages of 18 and 44 (85.6%). Black residents were the subject of 46.2% of all use-of-force incidents despite representing just 12.2% of St. Tammany Parish’s population–a disparity ratio of 3.79, meaning Black residents were subjected to force at nearly four times the rate their population share would predict. White residents, who make up 73.8% of the parish population, accounted for 50.0% of force incidents, yielding a disparity ratio of 0.68, or roughly two-thirds of their expected share. Citizen injury rates declined over the reporting period. Annual volume was relatively stable from 2022 to 2024 (roughly 176-186 individuals per year) before rising to 212 in 2025, which is a modest but notable increase of about 17%.

Calvin Duncan to receive the John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice during the milestone celebration

NEW ORLEANS — Innocence & Justice Louisiana (IJLA) will host its 25th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, September 19, from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM at Xavier University of Louisiana’s University Center Ballroom located at 4955 Drexel Dr. in New Orleans.

This year’s gala will celebrate 25 years of litigation and advocacy for innocent and unjustly sentenced people–work that has resulted in the freedom of 78 people who served over 1745 years in prison. The evening will honor Calvin Duncan as the recipient of the John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice, an award presented to individuals whose courage, leadership, and commitment have advanced the fight for freedom, accountability, and justice.

The theme of the gala is community: the community which IJLA clients and their families have with each other, with other currently and formerly incarcerated people, and with IJLA as an organization. The evening will feature an original film telling the story of the organization through the relationship of clients with one another and with IJLA. 

Looking ahead to this year’s event, Executive Director Jee Park says, “For 25 years, IJLA has been on the forefront of fighting for freedom for people who should not be in prison. We are honored to be celebrating with our former clients and their families, and our allies, supporters and friends who believe in justice. We plan to continue building an equitable, unbiased and just criminal legal system where everyone is treated with dignity and humanity.” 

The gala will be held in partnership with venue partner Xavier University of Louisiana and will feature premier local cuisine, an exclusive silent auction, live music, a film, a special presentation of clients, and other program moments, including the presentation of the John Thompson Award for Courage & Justice to Calvin Duncan, followed by remarks from Mr. Duncan.

Event Details

Saturday, September 19, 2026

6:00 PM to 9:30 PM

Xavier University of Louisiana, University Center Ballroom, 3rd Floor

4955 Drexel Dr, New Orleans, LA

 

Tickets are available now. Community members, partners, and supporters are invited to attend and to support IJLA’s continued work. For more information about purchasing tickets or supporting the gala, visit here.

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About Innocence & Justice, Louisiana

Innocence & Justice Louisiana (formerly Innocence Project New Orleans) frees innocent people sentenced to life in prison and those serving unjust sentences. We recognize the root causes of wrongful convictions and unjust sentences as systemic racism and inequities. We work to expose and address these root causes by sharing our clients’ stories in court, the legislature, the community, and the media. We support our clients living well and fully in the world after their release.

JUNE 2026 NEWSLETTER

In Loving Memory of Clarence Simmons

Keith Ezidore Comes Home After 34 Years Wrongfully Convicted

This report analyzes use-of-force data from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office from 2014 through 2025, covering 559 unique records across nine years, with no data available for 2020 or 2021. Across the available data, the agency recorded a notable spike in use-of-force incidents in 2022, with nearly double the number of records from any prior year. Black residents made up roughly half of the people subjected to force, despite representing 29% of the parish population, a pattern that persisted in every year with available demographic data. Use of force was also concentrated among a small group of officers: 12 of the 205 unique officers identified during the full period had 10 or more records each, and the top 10 officers accounted for 22% of all records. Significant changes in how the agency recorded data over time, including the complete absence of citizen demographic information in 2022 and 2023, limit the precision of these findings.

This report provides a descriptive overview of use-of-force incidents reported by the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) from 2016 through 2025. Over this ten-year period, NOPD documented 4,605 use-of-force incidents involving approximately 5,595 individuals subjected to force. The most common types of force were exhibiting a firearm, which accounted for 33.4% of all force applications, and hands-on techniques, which accounted for 22.3%. More than three-quarters of all force applications were classified at the lowest severity level, L1. The majority of civilians subjected to force were male (84.4%), between 18 and 44 years old (75.2%), and Black (82.1%). Black residents accounted for 84.3% of individuals subjected to force while representing 54.6% of the parish population, a share well above their population proportion. Most civilians were arrested following the use-of-force encounter (75.0%). Subject injury rates increased over the reporting period, rising from 12.4% in 2016 to 26.7% in 2025. Ninety percent of incidents were found justified upon investigation, while approximately 1.5% were found not justified. This report is based on data obtained from NOPD’s publicly available open data portal and does not include incidents that may have gone unreported.

This report provides a descriptive overview of internal complaint allegations filed against officers of the Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) from 2004 through 2025. Over this twenty-two-year period, BRPD’s internal affairs process documented 4,607 individual complaint allegations involving 1,757 unique officers. The most common allegation categories were conduct unbecoming of an officer (21.5%), use of force (15.9%), and damaging equipment (15.6%). Annual complaint volume declined from a peak of 357 allegations in 2004 to a low of 125 in 2016, rose sharply to 306 in 2021, and has since settled at roughly 250 allegations per year in the most recent period. Across the full dataset, 77% of allegations with a recorded disposition were sustained, not sustained, or exonerated, with sustained findings accounting for 52.6%, not sustained findings for 41.0%, and exonerations for 6.4%. Sustained rates varied dramatically by allegation type: administrative violations such as damaging equipment were sustained at rates above 90%, while use-of-force allegations were sustained less than 6% of the time. A small number of officers accounted for a disproportionate share of complaints, with 3% of officers generating nearly 17% of all allegations. This report is limited to data provided by BRPD through public records requests and does not include complaints that may have been filed through other channels or involved other agencies.

URGENT: POLICY UPDATE

Governor Landry Vetoes Unanimous Bipartisan Bill That Would Help Innocent People Wrongfully Imprisoned for Decades

SB 125 would have helped men wrongfully convicted for 20, 30, or even 40 years, and was unanimously supported by legislators. The Governor’s veto falsely suggests abuse of the compensation process while ignoring the real victims of Louisiana’s failures.

Innocence & Justice Louisiana in D.C.