A Baton Rouge activist is suing a former East Baton Rouge Parish mayoral staffer, saying she hit him with a chair during an argument at a nightclub.
Walter "Geno" McLaughlin said Courtney Scott, who at the time was an assistant chief administrative officer for then-Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, hit him hard enough to cause bleeding.
provided by McLaughlin's attorney, Ryan Thompson,  a heated argument outside the Sky Lounge on Bennington Avenue on June 18, 2024. Scott picks up a metal folding chair and swings it, striking McLaughlin in the face.
McLaughlin walks away holding his face while Scott then appears to swing the chair against a wooden fence several times before dropping it and following McLaughlin off-camera.
Photos included in the lawsuit show McLaughlin with blood dripping from his left eye. Other photos appear to show Scott outside the nightclub swinging a chair at McLaughlin.
"Ms. Scott became irate and aggressive toward Mr. McLaughlin and proceeded to commit several batteries upon him," Thompson wrote in the civil complaint.
Scott did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Accord to the lawsuit, the city-parish was hosting an event at the club to watch an NBA Finals game when the incident occurred.Â
"Worth noting, at all times Ms. Scott was operating in her official capacity as a city/parish employee," the suit says wrote.
Records obtained by ¶¶Òõh last year show Broome placed Scott on administrative leave two days after the incident. Scott officially resigned from her position the following month after an investigation, according to Broome.
Thompson says the "batteries" against McLaughlin occurred after an argument over city-parish business. Along with Scott, McLaughlin is also suing the city-parish, alleging Scott was acting as a top mayoral staffer when the incident occurred.
Since leaving the mayor's office last year, a University of Chicago fellowship in April in Miami.
McLaughlin is requesting a trial by jury. The suit does not specify damages.
