Who Is The Baton Rouge Police Chief?

In the aftermath of the shooting of Alton Sterling, an African American man, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, scrutiny has fallen upon Carl Dabadie, Jr., the local chief of police. Michael McClanahan, president of the Baton Rouge NAACP, has called for Dabadie's resignation since video of the shooting has been widely circulated and sparked outrage, both in Baton Rouge and across the country. But who is Dabadie, and what role does he play in this story and in the wider context of Baton Rouge law enforcement?

On Wednesday, McClanahan said, “What I’m calling for today is that the chief law enforcement officer to fire the police chief." He added, “He must step down. We cannot have anybody who allows this type of action to take place.”

Dabadie did not respond to request for comment from The Washington Post, but the publication noted that he is expected to speak publicly about the shooting Wednesday afternoon. Louisiana State Representative Denise Marcelle told NewsWest9 that, according to Dabadie, the body cameras on the two officers involved fell off during the incident.

According to a report in The Advocate, a Baton-Rouge-based newspaper, Dabadie "inherited a department wracked by turmoil" in July of 2013. In an article from 2014, East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden praised Dabadie, saying “There’s no doubt the morale is up,” and that he also “jumps [the officers] tails when they need to be jumped.”

Dabadie has has been with the department since 1985. He is a second-generation police officer, following in the footsteps of his father, Lt. Carl Dabadie, Sr., who was killed in a motorcycle accident while on duty in 1984.