A Baton Rouge police officer was arrested early Thursday and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison after investigators alleged he broke into a woman's home, beat her and dragged her back inside when she tried to flee. Sirtelli Dorsey, 37, now faces three charges stemming from an incident that unfolded late Wednesday night.
According to WBRZ, arrest documents allege Dorsey forced entry into the woman's Baton Rouge home before physically battering her. When she attempted to leave, the documents state, he pulled her back inside and continued the assault.
Police documents said the woman was left with several bruises to her arm, leg and back. The same documents allege that Dorsey verbally threatened her, warning her against contacting police about what had happened.
Officer Admits Being Present, Denies Attacking Her
Dorsey told investigators he had been at the woman's home but denied carrying out the attack, per the arrest documents. He was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of domestic abuse battery, aggravated battery and false imprisonment.
Under Louisiana law, domestic abuse battery covers the intentional use of force or violence by one household or family member against another, according to the Louisiana Legislature. The aggravated battery statute carries a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 10 years of imprisonment, with or without hard labor, or both, per the same legislative text. False imprisonment, meanwhile, is defined under Louisiana law as the intentional confinement or detention of another person without consent and without legal authority.
A BRPD spokesperson said Dorsey had served 12 years with the department's uniform patrol. He was placed on administrative leave immediately following his arrest, the spokesperson said.
Another BRPD Officer Was Accused in 2025
Dorsey's arrest follows another recent case involving a Baton Rouge officer. In December, officer Stefan Jones was issued a misdemeanor citation for sexual battery and placed on paid administrative leave, according to WAFB. That incident, reported to have occurred at a gas station, did not result in a jail booking because Jones received a citation instead, and BRPD opened an internal-affairs investigation into the complaint. Jones had spent six years with the department and, per The Advocate as reported by WAFB, had previously been disciplined for falsifying military orders and for brandishing a stun gun at bar patrons in Tigerland.
Domestic Violence Remains Widespread Across Louisiana
The allegations against Dorsey land against a backdrop of significant need across the state. All 16 identified domestic-violence programs in Louisiana took part in a single-day census on September 10, 2025, serving 805 victims and fielding 221 hotline contacts in that 24-hour window, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence. The same count found those programs were unable to meet 54 requests for help due to insufficient resources, funding or staffing, with roughly 76% of those unmet requests tied to emergency shelter, hotels, motels, transitional housing or other housing.
A separate survey of more than 1,000 Louisiana adults found 8% had experienced physical violence in the year before the survey, including 3% who said they were threatened with a knife or gun, according to the Louisiana Illuminator. Among women who reported physical violence, 58% identified a spouse or partner as responsible, compared with 14% of men who reported violence. Nearly a quarter of women surveyed said they had experienced potentially lethal intimate-partner violence at some point in their lives, compared with 6% of men, and respondents who lacked enough money for food or basic necessities were five times more likely to report physical violence in the past year and six times more likely to report intimate-partner violence.
Dorsey's case remains in its earliest stages, with the circumstances of the alleged attack described only through the arrest documents cited by WBRZ. BRPD has not released additional details beyond confirming his administrative leave and 12-year tenure with the department's uniform patrol.
