ST. GABRIEL, La. (AP) - Federal authorities are investigating possible civil rights violations at a Louisiana state prison.
The head of the FBI office in New Orleans says the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baton Rouge are looking into an alleged incident at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel.
Thursday’s news release gives no details. However, St. Gabriel Police Chief Kevin Ambeau told The Advocate (https://bit.ly/2kYtNvd ) that his officers have given federal agents their case files on the alleged beating of an inmate at Hunt.
The newspaper reported that six prison officers are on leave while authorities investigate allegations that an inmate was beaten in January.
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections investigators also have been looking into the allegation.
Ambeau said Thursday that the case files turned over include photographs of the alleged victim’s injuries and information from dozens of interviews.
Ambeau said the complexity of the investigation and the possibility of federal criminal charges in the case led to the FBI’s involvement in the case.
“We don’t want to leave a stone unturned,” Ambeau said.
“The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence and will ensure that the investigation is conducted in a fair, thorough and impartial manner,” Jeff Sallet, the special agent in charge of the FBI New Orleans Division, said in the news release.
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Information from: The Advocate, https://theadvocate.com
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