A Baton Rouge, Louisiana, deputy police chief and two other officers have been arrested on multiple felony charges amid investigations and lawsuits related to an alleged police "torture warehouse" dubbed the Brave Cave.
Baton Rouge Deputy Chief Troy Lawrence Sr., Sgt. Jesse Barcelona and Officer Todd Thomas are facing charges of malfeasance in office, obstruction of justice and theft, jail records show.
Additionally, Lawrence Sr. and Thomas are facing charges of simple battery, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office jail records.
All three were booked on Thursday and later released, records show.
The details surrounding circumstances of the arrests have not been disclosed. Baton Rouge police officials have scheduled a briefing Friday morning.
Lawrence Sr. was placed on administrative leave this week, CNN has reported. The deputy chief is a high-ranking member of the department whose son, former officer Troy Lawrence Jr., was named in a federal lawsuit alleging brutal and sexually humiliating interrogation tactics at the off-site warehouse, CNN has reported.
CNN has reached out to Baton Rouge police and Lawrence Sr.'s attorney for comment. CNN has made several attempts to reach Barcelona and Thomas for comment. It's unclear if they have retained an attorney.
The three officers had been previously placed on administrative leave.
The warehouse, officially known as the Narcotics Processing Facility, "has been permanently closed and the Street Crimes Unit Officers have been disbanded and reassigned," the police department previously said.
The scandal has prompted multiple investigations into the police department's practices and the now-shuttered warehouse facility, including the FBI and Baton Rouge Police, Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome said this week.
The police department also faces litigation over the conduct of officers at the warehouse, which they referred as the "brave cave."
The warehouse, which was officially known as the Narcotics Processing Facility, has been permanently closed and the street crimes unit officers disbanded and reassigned, according to a previous department statement.
