By Elizabeth Vowell
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -
Two Baton Rouge Police officers
and a former officer have been indicted on abuse of power charges related to a
sex act.
Isaac Bolden, Travis Wheeler,
and Emerson Jackson are accused of walking up to a woman and a man in a parked
car at Old Hammond Park earlier this year and forcing the man to leave. Bolden
then allegedly had the woman perform a sex act on him.
Police officials say Bolden
resigned months ago and the other officers are on leave.
"They're always going to
be bad apples in the group. My job as an administrator is to find those bad
apples and serve them with the discipline and whatever law they may have
broke," said Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie.
A grand jury handed up charges
of abuse of power against all three Wednesday afternoon. District Attorney
Hillar Moore explained that charges related to sexual battery did not apply in
this case because of issues with consent.
“Based on our review of the law
and compared to the facts, the abuse of office was the most proper charge,"
said Moore.
As for Officers Wheeler and
Jackson, Chief Dabadie says they're off the streets for now.
"We are following all the
guidelines set forth by law and by state civil service law. We've placed them
on administrative leave at this point. They have no policing power at this
point. We set forth the civil service procedure for termination," said
Dabadie.
If convicted, the charges carry
up to five years in jail, with a one year minimum.
"To indict one of your
own, police officers, it's just not a good situation, but we have to do what's
right for everybody regardless of who they are," said Moore.
Bolden's attorney, John
DiGiulio, said his client will plead not-guilty. Wheeler's attorney, Harry
Daniels, said his client will also plead not-guilty and that Wheeler was
shocked by the indictment. It is unknown if Emerson has representation yet.
