The State Parole Board voted to grant conditional parole to Brian Kendall Polk Sr., DOC 749436, who has been in the Terrebonne Parish transition-to-work program and was described by program staff as a model participant.

Lieutenant Chase Blanchard told the panel Polk "has been a model inmate" while in the work-release program for about nine months and "has nothing bad to say." Polk said he became involved with street drugs after a service-connected disability and has since found religious support and completed parenting and anger-management classes while incarcerated. He told the panel he was a Class A CDL tractor-trailer driver for 27 years and that he has been working on recovery.

Panel members voted to grant parole conditionally, with each member outlining similar conditions: Polk must complete 100 hours of prerelease training and substance-abuse treatment before release. One member also added a requirement for two AA meetings per week and a recommendation to get a sponsor. The board emphasized those classes must be completed before Polk's release; staff were directed to prioritize Polk's placement into the required programming so he can complete the conditions.

Decision: parole granted conditionally pending completion of required classes and prerelease training. The board recorded the condition and assigned DOC staff to help Polk enroll and complete the mandated programs.