The president of the Baton Rouge Police Union is under fire and under investigation for his actions following the Alton Sterling shooting. Sgt C. Bryan Taylor received a pre-disciplinary letter which accuses him of violating protocol by not separating officers on the scene after the police shooting that left Alton Sterling dead in front of the Triple S Food Mart.
According The Advocate:
The union president, Sgt. C. Bryan Taylor, said Police Chief Murphy Paul issued a “predisciplinary letter” last week accusing Taylor of violating department protocol that requires officers involved in a shooting to be separated from each other. That requirement is intended to preserve the integrity of an investigation and to prevent officers from colluding on a version of events before they have been interviewed by the department.
The investigation is the latest sign of strife between the police union and Paul. Taylor, who has consistently butted heads with the new chief, is accused of failing to “carry out orders” after responding to the Sterling scene.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, Taylor described the internal inquiry as political payback for the police union’s criticism of Paul after the chief fired Blane Salamoni, the officer who fatally shot Sterling outside the Triple S Food Mart. Paul also suspended Howie Lake II, the second officer involved in the deadly encounter with Sterling.
Taylor said he had been off duty and responded to the scene of the shooting only as a union representative. He said there were a number of other supervisors on scene tasked with separating Salamoni and Lake.
Police Chief Murphy Paul declined to comment on the investigation while it’s ongoing.
Read more about the investigation here.
