re: 2 civilians die in West Baton Rouge car chase

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Scott Courrege said Louisiana law gives a little more leeway than the national standard.

"Louisiana law allows officers to speed while in pursuit of a suspected violator of the law," Courrege said. "It also allows them to run red lights. The law narrows that down and says they have to slow or stop to allow for safe operation. If that officer did not apply brakes, and was going over 80 miles an hour facing a red light, he would not be in compliance with the statute that allows him to engage in those activities."

The crash happened around noon Saturday, on New Year's Eve. One day later, the West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office arrested Addis Officer David Cauthron. Cauthron has been with the Addis Police Department for less than a year.

"It's very concerning," Courrege said. "You look at any pursuit situation or any law enforcement action and weigh the government interest compared to the risk to the public. In this situation, there's a lot of unknown facts, but the government interest seems to be way less than the risk to the public as shown by the outcome of this case."

Sources told WBRZ that the GPS inside Cauthron's vehicle showed he was going about 86 miles per hour and did not hit his brakes before impact. Witnesses said Cauthron ran a red light and that the light had been red for about 20 seconds when his police unit reached the intersection.

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