The Story of a Baton Rouge Police Officer Who Packed and Moved Away this Month

By Woody Jenkins, editor Central City News

The seven Newsome boys have lived all over the country. Four of the brothers followed their dad and joined the Marines. The fifth boy joined the Army.  The last two boys wanted to follow their older brothers into the military.

Nearly 20 years ago, then-Marine Corps Capt. Saul Newsome moved to Baton Rouge for law school, loved it, got married, and started raising a family. He had a vision of getting all of his six brothers to resettle in Baton Rouge.

It took years but eventually all seven moved here.

One of the youngest, Simon Newsome, arrived 11 years ago at age 21.  He tried to join the military but there were too many delays.  Finally, seven years ago, he joined the Baton Rouge Police Department.  He was an instant success, graduating No. 1 in his class at the Baton Rouge Police Academy.

Simon loved being on the street, calming situations, being a role model for kids, and arresting the bad guys.  After being involved in several high profile cases, he gained the attention of the chief who named him to the Chief’s advisory board, representing rank-and-file officers. 

Then after six years, Simon was named a Detective.  It was a dream come true!

Simon Newsome is quick to make it clear  he loves police work and especially the Baton Rouge Police Department and his fellow officers.

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Since moving to Baton Rouge, Simon met and married his wife Victoria, the daughter of an Army chaplain. Victoria taught at Brownsfield Elementary until she and Simon started having a family.  Now they have five boys and she can no longer work full time!

At age 32, Simon has a lot of responsibilities — on the streets of Baton Rouge and at their modest home. 

Trying to keep up the pace with the expenses of a growing family, Simon began to work an enormous amount of overtime. He found that just to keep up with the basic expenses, he was never home.

Then, in an on-the-job traffic accident, Simon suffered a broken hand. He continued to work full-time but could no longer work overtime.

He soon realized he was making only $45,000 a year for a 40-hour work week.  That was $700 a month short of keeping the lights on.  “It’s unbelievable, but we cannot afford to have cable TV or ever go out to eat at a restaurant.  We’d love to take a vacation for a week or two in the summer but that is out of the question,” he said.

“As far as our dream of owning our own home on a nice lot and having a little office or a workshop, we don’t qualify for anything.”

In the United States, the official poverty rate for a family of seven in 2025 was $48,650, putting the Newsome family well below poverty guidelines.

Simon said the only alternative is massive overtime.

“I don’t think people in Baton Rouge really understand what the officers of BRPD do for them.”

“We have to be peacekeepers and warriors, peaceful and violent, quick and slow, a lawyer who has to anticipate how he will be judged, a person who holds in his hand the power of life and death, all of which is to be decided in a split second.  We see people on the worst day of their lives, and then we go on to the next one.”

“Any case I write can go all the way to the Supreme Court and become case law.  The value of this job is vastly misunderstood.  How quickly things can go bad when the wrong people are on the job!”

“Now think about our manpower situation. When you have low manpower, a lot of people are burned out and not operating at their peak.”

“People have no idea of the violence in their own neighborhoods because we are standing in the gap and very few people actually see what went on inside the crime scene.”

“We go from a child burned to death to a shooting. Then to a call where the people are shouting at you because we’re late to arrive. I’ve gone home smelling like burnt flesh and with my pants covered with blood from a shooting. Then I change gears and have to give the kids a bath and pretend everything is OK.”

“Yes, I can work massive overtime just to pay the bills, but what’s the point if I never get to see my kids and I’m a stranger in my own home?”

“The men and women who do this work love it, they enjoy taking care of people, but there’s a heavy price.”

“There is another thing. In what other job do you come to work and wonder if your co-worker will make it through the day alive?”

“You go through life or death situations, then come home and try to shake it off.”

***

Now Simon and Victoria Newsome have a different set of problems — packing up and moving 529 miles to Fayetteville, Arkansas, an 8 hour, 36 minute drive away from family in Baton Rouge.

There Simon will be a member of the Fayetteville Police Department, where he’ll start at $75,000.  Plus there is a $7,000 moving allowance. He will also pay less for health insurance. In three years, he’ll be eligible to earn over $100,000 a year, and there are more salary steps after that.

They’ve already found a nice home on several acres near Fayetteville. Simon’s new salary will allow them to buy it.  There will be bedrooms for the kids and a shop for Simon. “We love it! We could never afford a home like this on my salary in Baton Rouge,” he said.

“Fayetteville is a beautiful town with low crime. The place is prosperous, and the city lets the income of officers grow with the success of the city.”

Simon said it was a tough decision to decide to leave his brothers and their families in Baton Rouge, but his first obligation is to provide for his wife and children.

***

Simon said when the Thrive initiative failed last November, he felt the citizens of the parish let down the police. “It didn’t raise taxes, it just reordered priorities. It was moving toward adequately funding the police. However, that just wasn’t a priority for many people.”

“My decision to accept the position in Arkansas is not a reflection on the Chief or the Mayor-President or the Baton Rouge Police Department. It think highly of all of them. My concern is about the citizens, because sometimes it seems they just don’t care what happens to the police.  We have a severe shortage of police. Officers are leaving in large numbers, but the public doesn’t seem concerned.”

Two months ago, when a story ran online about officers living below the poverty line, Simon said he was shocked at the comments.  People said things like “They knew the pay when they signed on.” Others said, “The wife should go to work.”  Someone said they were lazy.

***

“Honestly, making the move to Fayetteville is as much about the quality of life as it is the money.  I’m happy to work 40 or 50 hours a week but not 70 or 80 hours a week.  I want to spent time with my kids. These are the best years, and I don’t want to miss them.”

“Plus Fayetteville is a great place to raise a family.  Clean and modern.  Low crime.  Good schools.”

“Honestly, it’s not a close question. I love Baton Rouge. I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here.  But this is the best decision for my family and our future.”