Study reveals Louisiana State Police uses force disproportionately against Black people

The study also showed racial disparities were prevalent across the state’s entire State Police regional force.

A three-year breakdown of data surrounding the Louisiana State Police Department reveals troopers used force against Black people at a rate that far surpassed the population of Black people in the state.

Louisiana’s population is 31% Black, but they made up more than 60% of all recorded use-of-force incidents involving state troopers. There were 902 use-of-force incidents involving Black people and state troopers from 2022 to 2024. By comparison, white residents, who compose 61% of the state’s population, were involved in 341 or 23% of all incidents.

The data analysis report was conducted by Innocence and Justice Louisiana, formerly known as Innocence Project Louisiana. 11% of use-of-force incidents had the suspect’s race listed as unknown, which, according to data and community coordinator Esme Lee, did “limit the precision” of their analysis.

The study also showed racial disparities were prevalent across the state’s entire State Police regional force. Southwest Louisiana had the highest number of use-of-force incidents, where Black and Native American residents were three times more likely than their population percentages to be involved.

State law in Louisiana requires police departments to report all use-of-force incidents that result in bodily injury to the individual or individuals involved. Named the Shantel Arnold Act, the law centered around a 2021 incident where a Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputy was captured dragging a Black woman by her hair and slamming her into the ground. Ultimately, the sheriff’s office settled a civil lawsuit Arnold brought forth for $300,000.

Despite the suit, the department continued to employ Deputy Jose Alvarado, the officer involved in the incident, despite a wide-ranging history of excessive force complaints against him.

According to State Police Public Affairs commander Capt. Russell Graham, the data doesn’t tell the whole story.

“While the numbers are accurate, it’s not a fair depiction of our stats,” Graham told the Louisiana Illuminator about the Innocence and Justice report, while acknowledging that the study did not have a breakdown that separated how vehicle pursuits were resolved or the conclusion of high-speed chases from other uses of force.

Graham hopes updated technology for state police will assist them in compiling their use-of-force data to inform training practices for troopers, along with an online dashboard for complete transparency. The officer also stated that the majority of incidents reported by the Louisiana State Police are tied to speeding motorists.

“We’re not looking at anything besides speed,” he said. “You’re not looking at the color of someone’s skin, whether they’re male or female, or even what they’re driving. It’s troopers running down the road in one direction, catching somebody speeding in the opposite direction.”

Still, with that acknowledgment, State Police data concluded there were similar racial discrepancies as the report from Innocence and Justice Louisiana. It showed 307 Black suspects were involved in use-of-force and pursuit incidents, compared to 102 white suspects, a three-to-one difference.