Each time parents pick up their children from Red River Elementary, officers are there directing traffic and making sure everyone is safe. One of the familiar faces is Officer Bradley Horton Taylor, a Coushatta native.

Taylor, son of Lugene and Sandra Taylor, grew up mowing yards and helping at Horton’s Texaco. He grew up attending New Magdalene Baptist Church. Unfortunately, in 2001, he left Coushatta for Houston, TX after losing his grandmother.

Recently, Taylor returned and became a city police officer. The Coushatta son is happy to be back and loves his afternoons of maintaining the elementary school zone.

Mayor Ashanti Cole says, “He’s a great officer who loves to engage with the kids. He loves to dedicate his time to positively impacting children in the communities.”

Taylor tells everyone he meets, “I love Coushatta. It’s my home. Coushatta taught me so much as a kid, especially about God! I’m back to do my job and help however I can.”

Through all his work, Taylor hopes to impact the young people of the Parish. He spends time in the community, passes out candy to the kids, and loves to talk with teens and local seniors. As for the children of the Elementary School, he calls them “his babies.”

Soon, Mayor Cole says he will be part of an initiative forming that will be an officer/teen mentor program.