BRPD officer on administrative leave was suspended in 1999 incident

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BATON ROUGE - Records show that a Baton Rouge Police sergeant placed on paid administrative leave faced serious disciplinary action by the department in the past.

BRPD announced Tuesday morning that Sergeant Todd Bourgoyne was placed on administrative leave after the officer was involved in the arrest of a 16-year-old that drew attention from social media when video emerged of the sergeant punching the teen. The arrest took place after fights broke out during LA Earth Day festivities on Sunday in downtown Baton Rouge.

Bourgoyne was previously suspended for nearly three months after complaints related to a July 1999 domestic disturbance call. Once another responding officer had taken the man involved in the incident to a relative’s home, Bourgoyne reportedly went back to the woman’s apartment on his own.

Records reveal Bourgoyne kissed and hugged the woman before he “raised the front of her nightgown and touched her genital area with the back of his hand” after the woman allowed him to enter the apartment.

Bourgoyne signed an agreement with the police chief months later that allowed him to keep his job following an 87-day suspension and a psychiatric evaluation. In the agreement, Bourgoyne also acknowledged that he lied to investigators after the woman reported the incident to authorities.

A newspaper editorial published in the wake of the suspension called for Bourgoyne to be fired.

The sergeant has now been employed by BRPD for 22 years and was assigned to the Traffic Division at the time of Sunday’s incident.

In the last two years, Bourgoyne's gross pay totaled $236,144 including a total of $117,494 in overtime pay, according to records from BRPD.