EBR Sheriff's Office receives federal grant

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - The EBR Sheriff's Office has been awarded a $1.25 million grant from the Department of Justice.

The money will pay the salaries of eight new deputies when eight current deputies that have SWAT training leave to be a part of the new Emergency Services Unit.

"This ESU is not a unit that's going to replace the SWAT," said Sheriff Sid Gautreaux. "It'll be a highly trained unit that will be there 24-7 that will be out there ready to respond to any and all emergencies at a moment's notice."

Sheriff Gautreaux says it will take about six months to select and train the ESU.

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