Attorneys for LSU WR Koy Moore issue statement fully describing incident
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The following is a statement from Mark Glago and Jatavian Williams, attorneys for Koy Moore and his family, regarding Koy’s interaction with three Baton Rouge Police Department officers in November 2020.
“The BRPD’s interaction with Koy Moore and his friend the night of Nov. 8 is clear evidence that we should expect more from the officers who are supposed to protect all citizens.
Unfortunately for Koy, his first-ever encounter with police fell well outside of the conduct expected from police officers. When misconduct and policy violations occur, accountability and discipline must follow. The closed-door disciplinary decisions by the BRPD is a warning sign that the outcome of this situation will do little to change officer behavior that must change.
These are the facts.
Three Baton Rouge police officers in the early morning hours of Nov. 8 approached Moore aggressively. The body cam videos prove it.
At approximately 1:50 a.m. that morning, Koy and his friend decided to grab a bite to eat, just like so many college students on campuses across the country are known to do. They left their LSU campus apartment and walked to the adjoining parking garage to get to his friend’s vehicle. Koy was unarmed and possessed no drugs.
While walking to their vehicle in the parking garage, BRPD Officer Brian Spitzer abruptly stopped his patrol car and aggressively approached the pair. This encounter quickly escalated when the initiating officer drew his weapon and held these college students at gunpoint.
The interaction grew more intense when BRPD Officers Carboni and Bouraique blindly followed the lead of the initiating officer by also drawing their deadly weapons on these two unarmed college students and cursing both young men. Koy’s plea to be treated with respect was ignored. These officers searched Koy during this encounter in pursuit of a weapon and/or drugs. Nothing was found.
These BRPD officers displayed an utter lack of professionalism or understanding toward two college students. Both young men remained completely unaware of why they were being stopped and harassed. The officers provided no explanation.
This assault was unwarranted, unjustified and was overly aggressive. There are some that want to celebrate a victory for these police officers. Their words do nothing to change the facts of how these officers acted.
This encounter was noticeably omitted from the police report from that night, despite the fact that guns were pulled, and people were held at gunpoint. If the officers felt they committed no wrongdoing, why didn’t they put what happened in their report? Had Koy not shared his experience via social media, this encounter would have certainly gone unacknowledged.
Yesterday’s BRPD Internal Affairs hearing was a closed hearing between the police officers, their teams of attorneys and their chief of police. Koy was not invited to attend the hearing, nor were his attorneys. Most concerning is that another police officer was the person who decided whether the officers should be disciplined or not. Basically, the BRPD officers scored a touchdown during practice when there was no defense on the field.
Despite having all of these advantages, two officers were disciplined. Officer Brian Spitzer sustained multiple policy violations including Conduct Unbecoming of a Police Officer and Failure to Write a Report. Spitzer was disciplined such that a Letter of Reprimand is now attached to his file, and he has been ordered to undergo mandatory procedural justice training, as well as mandatory de-escalation training. In like manner, the second Officer involved also sustained a policy violation of exhibiting Conduct Unbecoming of a Police Officer and will receive a Letter of Reprimand.
Koy Moore, who was recognized as LSU’s Student Academic Athlete of the Month (Feb. 2021), fully stands by his Twitter and Instagram posts. The officers acted improperly, and the police’s own internal investigation found as such.”
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