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Metro Council votes not to hear BRAVE Cave report from BRPD chief, mayor
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BATON ROUGE - The tension from the last Metro Council meeting appears to still be there, as members involved in a heated exchange with Chief Paul voted not to have him come back to the mic on Wednesday.
Chief Paul and Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome had prepared a presentation on the latest in the 'BRAVE Cave' investigation, but some members like councilwoman Jen Racca did not want to let the chief present.
"I didn't think I wanted to give the police chief a platform to spread more lies," Racca told WBRZ after the meeting.
Racca and Chief Paul hurled accusations at each other at the last meeting, culminating in Racca asking the mayor to remove the chief from his position immediately, though he is set to retire by the end of the year.
"There's been a narrative that we defunded his police legal fees that absolutely was inaccurate," she said.
The narrative Racca is referring to stems from a comment she made during the previous Metro Council meeting. After hearing testimony from residents about concerns with the BRAVE Cave, Racca said the council cannot do anything except reject funding to BRPD.
"The only thing that we have the power to do is to not approve funding," Racca said.
Chief Paul and the mayor quickly left the meeting after the vote.
It's unclear whether the presentation will be put back on the agenda, as Metro Councilmember Cleve Dunn—who put the item on tonight's agenda—declined an interview with WBRZ alluding to negative stories done on him in the past.
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