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T h u r s d ay, a p r i l 23, 2026
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Metro Council OKs raises for police Vote set for May 13 on additional pay hikes BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
The East Baton Rouge Metro Council has approved the largest pay raise for Baton Rouge police in the department’s history. At a council meeting Wednesday night, Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ proposal — which institutes a minimum 15% salary increase for sworn Baton Rouge
police officers — passed with nine council members voting yes and council members Cleve Dunn Jr., Darryl Hurst and Anthony Kenney abstaining. After the vote, Police Chief TJ Morse said he was proud of his department and excited about the impact the raises will have. “I’ve always said from the beginning that Baton Rouge Police Department is a premier law enforce-
ment agency,” Morse said. “What was holding us back was pay.” The approval comes after some pushback from the Baton Rouge constable and some Democratic council members who said the Constable’s Office and other cityparish departments should be getting a raise at the same time. The Mayor’s Office on Wednesday introduced an agenda item to institute a raise for some oth-
er city-parish departments that would include the Constable’s Office. A vote on the item is set for May 13, but the amounts of that raise have not yet been announced. E d w a r d s thanked the council in a statement Edwards Wednesday and echoed the police chief’s thoughts on what it will mean for public safety in Baton Rouge “Tonight’s decision is not only
L AT EST BUZZ
important to recruit and retain high-quality police officers, but it helps Baton Rouge avoid millions of dollars in penalties if BRPD staffing decreased more,” he said. With the council’s approval, the starting pay for Baton Rouge police will jump from roughly $41,000 to $58,000. Maximum pay for Baton Rouge police sergeants will increase from $69,000 to $98,000, lieutenants will go from $75,000 to over $108,000 and captains will increase from $81,000 to
ä See RAISES, page 8A
Parish attorney opening draws interest
At least four lawyers have emerged as candidates BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
different than just ordering at Amazon,” Cleland said. A facility at the Amazon fulfillment center at the former Cortana Mall site will house around 12 to 20 drones and serve as a launchpad for deliveries. Amazon’s goal is to deliver 500 million packages by the end of the decade and is
With Parish Attorney Greg Rome retiring last week, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council must now decide who will be the next top lawyer in local government. Council Administrator Ashley Beck is currently handling the administrative responsibilities for the office, and several council members say no action has been taken to appoint an interim. Rome announced his retirement last month after more than two years in that role — and 10 years total in the Parish Attorney’s Office. His retirement began Saturday. In recent weeks, at least four lawyers have told council members they are interested in the job: Creighton Abadie, Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts, Ernest Johnson and John McLindon. Council member Laurie Adams said candidates have discussed their interest with some of her colleagues over the past few weeks as the council begins to review who might be a good fit. “My ideal candidate would be
ä See BUZZ, page 7A
ä See ATTORNEY, page 8A
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE
Jeff Cleland, principal of infrastructure and regulatory affairs at Amazon, holds a box that is the maximum size that will be delivered by Prime Air. The drone can carry up to 5 pounds.
Amazon offers peek at new drone delivery expected to take off this summer BY IANNE SALVOSA
Staff writer
Trying to find your Amazon package? Just look up. Amazon Prime Air, the company’s drone delivery program, is set to take flight in Baton Rouge by midsummer. Prime Air representatives presented the drone in an event downtown Wednesday at the Louisiana Association of
Business and Industry Center for Free Enterprise. It’s no ordinary drone — it’s roughly the size of a petite individual standing at 5 feet tall and weighing in at 80 pounds, with six motors resembling small wind turbines. It’s powered by three independent batteries — designed so the drone can return to its launchpad if one fails — and can zoom up to 70 miles per hour autonomous-
ly, meaning it is not manually controlled during flight. Jeff Cleland, principal of infrastructure and regulatory affairs for Amazon, said speedy delivery is no longer a convenience for customers, but a necessity. Prime Air is designed to make ordering and receiving products as easy as possible, he said. “From a customer experience, it doesn’t really look any
Democratic candidates running for Senate blast Trump policies BY TYLER BRIDGES
pay more taxes. The three also opposed Republican efforts to impose greater restrictions on voting, a Three little-known Democrats took turns move that the Democrats called “voter supslashing at President pression,” and sharply Donald Trump and Recriticized the Trump ELECTION 2026 administration’s use of publicans at Southern U.S. SENATE U.S. Immigration and University on Tuesday Customs Enforcement night in a campaign foagents to snatch suspected undocumented rum in this year’s Senate election. Policy adviser Nick Albares, farmer Ja- residents off the streets. Albares, Davis and Crockett met three mie Davis and business owner Gary Crockett called for reversing upcoming cuts in weeks before the May 16 primary, in Medicaid spending by Trump and the Re- which Democrats and no-party voters can publican Congress, questioned Trump’s war ä See SENATE, page 7A against Iran and demanded that billionaires Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 66 PAGE 6B
PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON
Democratic candidates for the United States Senate Jamie Davis, from left, Gary Crockett and Nick Albares participate in a debate at Southern University on Tuesday.
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101ST yEAR, NO. 297