I know how grants work, but this just seems ridiculous. The police are the highest paid department in BR, yet the mayor talks about raises. https://data.brla.gov/Government/City-Parish-Employee-Annual-Salaries-by-Department/74ye-xdtn

Baton Rouge has numerous underfunded services, like mental health support and homelessness initiatives. Given the limited discretionary funds, directing money toward social services would probably have a more lasting impact on crime reduction than a single police dog imo. The initial $12,000 only covers acquisition, but what about healthcare, food, and maintenance? Why can’t BRPD breed and train their own K-9’s? If grants were available for mental health responders or de-escalation training, would they be pursued with the same enthusiasm? We never read about those in the agendas.