The Baton Rouge Police Department is facing a flurry of lawsuits accusing the department and select police officers of misconduct and abuse. The allegations come after reports of a police warehouse dubbed the “Brave Cave'' was used as a faux police precinct where individuals who were apprehended by police officers were threatened and abused. The facility, officially known as the Narcotics Processing Facility, has since been shut down. The unit running the operation has also been disbanded.

Following reports of misconduct in the warehouse, the FBI New Orleans Field Office, alongside the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, announced that they would be launching a federal investigation into the Baton Rouge Police Department and members of the police force. The police department is also conducting its own internal investigation into the matter.

The civil lawsuit names several officers, including 26-year-old BRPD Officer Troy Lawrence Jr. Lawrence Jr. is the son of former deputy chief Chief Troy Lawrence Sr., who is no longer a part of the force but is accused of having an "extensive record of injuring members of the public."

Two plaintiffs include 47-year-old Ternell Brown and 21-year-old Jeremy Lee. Brown accuses officers of detaining her because she was carrying two prescriptions which she says she was allowed to carry. Brown accuses the officers of sexually humiliating her after detaining her and conducting an unnecessary strip and body cavity search at the facility on June 10th.

Under BRPD’s policy General Order no. 281, strip searches are not legal unless the officer has articulate, reasonable suspicion that the arrested individual may have weapons or contraband on them. Brown’s lawsuit argues that neither factor was present when the strip search was conducted.

Lee also claims unlawful exertion of power. Lee says he was taken to the facility where he claims to have been beaten so badly that "the local jail refused to admit him until he was treated by a nearby hospital.”

In a visit to an urgent care clinic, Lee was diagnosed with a “fractured left rib, chest pain, and left facial pain.”

Body cam footage surfaced showing officers detaining Lee before taking him to the “Brave Cave” on January 9th. The lawsuit explains that Lee was arrested “without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.” After officers detained him, he was brought to the warehouse where he was severely beaten. According to reports, Lee is currently facing charges of resisting arrest.

Lee’s lawsuit explains that the warehouse facility was used as a “home base” where suspects were detained and unlawfully taken for interrogation purposes. Police officers allegedly used the facility as a way to gather intelligence from detained individuals in an effort to “flip them” so that they would cooperate with police officers regarding other investigations.

The lawsuit also sheds light on the police department's street crimes unit, which has since been disbanded after the warehouse facility was shut down. This specialized unit was composed of nine officers and supervisors who have since been put on uniform patrol. According to the police department's website, the street crimes unit focused “on the most violent areas within the city” and responded “to all citizen’s complaints regarding drugs and violent crimes.”

Although the decision to shut down the facility and the street crimes unit came from Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, Broome maintained the city’s effort to improve community relations during a press conference last week. “Let me say to the citizens of Baton Rouge, since 2017, my administration and Chief Paul have worked painstakingly to improve the relationship between the police and our community,” Broom explained. “We have come too far to have this relationship eroded by a few bad actors.”

The police department is also conducting its own internal investigation against the allegations. BRPD Public Information Officer L'Jean McKneely shared in an email with Fox News Digital that the department "is committed to addressing these troubling accusations and has initiated administrative and criminal investigations."

Since the allegations were first reported, four officers connected to the Street Crimes Unit have been arrested.