RONALD GREENE

Ronald Greene died after being dragged and beaten during a struggle with Louisiana State Police in May 2019.

Five Louisiana law enforcement officers have been charged with state crimes for their roles in the 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, whose death authorities initially blamed on a car crash until The Associated Press published long-withheld body-camera video showing the Black motorist being stunned, beaten and dragged.

These are the first charges to emerge from a death authorities initially blamed on a car crash. Long suppressed body-camera video showed white officers beating, stunning and dragging Ronald Greene.

Five Louisiana law enforcement officers have been charged with state crimes for their roles in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene.

Facing the most serious charges from a state grand jury was Master Trooper Kory York, who was seen on the body-camera footage dragging Greene by his ankle shackles, putting his foot on his back to force him down and leaving the heavyset man face down in the dirt with his hands and feet restrained for more than nine minutes. Use-of-force experts say these actions could have dangerously restricted Greene’s breathing, and the state police’s own force instructor called the troopers’ actions “torture and murder.”

A Louisiana grand jury began hearing evidence Monday in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene.

A Louisiana grand jury began hearing evidence Monday in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, long-awaited testimony that will determine whether state charges are brought against the white troopers seen on body-camera video stunning, striking and dragging the Black motorist by his ankle shackles following a high-speed chase. Prosecutors planned to present a wide range of felony counts related to the troopers' use of force and their decision to leave the heavyset Greene handcuffed and prone for several minutes before rendering aid. “I want justice to be done,” John Belton, the Union Parish district attorney, told The Associated Press.

The probe was opened following reports of systemic racially biased arrests, violence and targeting.

During a press conference on Thursday, when House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was asked if he still felt that former President Donald Trump bore some responsibility for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, he said that “everybody in the country” bore "some responsibility" for it.

The U.S. Justice Department is opening a sweeping civil rights investigation into the Louisiana State Police amid mounting evidence that the agency has looked the other way in the face of beatings of mostly Black men, including the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said there was “no excuse” for a video he watched of the deadly arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene failing to reach prosecutors for another six months. Edwards said there isn't a good explanation for the key video not being promptly turned over but emphasized that he didn't know in October 2020 that he was seeing evidence that wasn't available to the authorities with the power to charge the troopers seen beating, stunning and dragging Greene. “There’s no excuse for it,” Edwards said.

Louisiana lawmakers are asking Gov. John Bel Edwards and his top attorneys to testify before a bipartisan committee investigating allegations of a cover-up in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene.

With racial tensions still simmering over the killing of George Floyd, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and his top lawyers gathered in a state police conference room in October 2020 to prepare for the fallout from a troubling case closer to home: troopers’ deadly arrest of Ronald Greene. There, they privately watched a crucial body-camera video of the Black motorist’s violent arrest that showed a bruised and bloody Greene going limp and drawing his final breaths — footage that prosecutors, detectives and medical examiners wouldn’t even know existed for another six months. While the Democratic governor has distanced himself from allegations of a cover-up in the explosive case by contending evidence was promptly turned over to authorities, an Associated Press investigation based on interviews and records found that wasn’t the case with the 30-minute video he watched.

Three Louisiana State Police troopers have been charged with simple battery, accused of beating a Black motorist after a chase.

Lawmakers investigating the deadly arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene have voted to hold the former head of the Louisiana State Police in contempt for defying a subpoena and refusing to turn over his handwritten journals.

Three years ago, when a beaten and battered Ronald Greene drew his final breath on a rural roadside, his death in Louisiana State Police custody seemed destined for obscurity.

Excerpts from the personal journals of the police superintendent show what Col. Kevin Reeves was thinking in the early days after Greene's death.

The Louisiana State Police superintendent wrote himself an ominous note days after the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene: “Realize there is a problem — must address immediately.”.

Louisiana lawmakers investigating the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene are preparing to hold the former head of the state police in contempt for refusing to turn over his journals.

The second-in-command of Louisiana State Police has been placed on leave while an investigation continues into the wiping of his cellphone data during an investigation into Black motorist Ronald Greene’s death.

No longer waiting for a federal investigation, a state prosecutor says he intends to pursue his own case against the Louisiana troopers involved in the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene.

Louisiana State Police investigators who pressed within days to charge troopers in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene say commanders rejected their concerns.

The former head of the Louisiana State Police says Gov. John Bel Edwards trusted his troopers to "do the right thing” and took a hands-off approach in police matters, even after Black motorist Ronald Greene died in a violent confrontation with troopers.

Gov. John Bel Edwards trusted Louisiana State Police to “do the right thing” and took a hands-off approach in police matters, even after Black motorist Ronald Greene died in a violent confrontation with troopers following a high-speed chase, the former head of the agency told state lawmakers Tuesday. Kevin Reeves distanced himself — and the Democratic governor — from the investigation of Greene’s 2019 death during a three-hour bipartisan grilling that included accusations of racism and gross negligence by the state's premier law enforcement agency. The hearing became heated at times as lawmakers expressed incredulity and frustration in Reeves' demurrals and refusal to condemn the white troopers captured on body camera video punching, stunning and dragging Greene during his fatal arrest on a rural roadside in northeast Louisiana.

The Louisiana State Police have hired an outside consultant to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the scandal-plagued agency.

Louisiana’s House speaker announced a bipartisan legislative investigation Thursday into the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene, an inquiry that will examine the state's response at “all levels," from troopers to the governor.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards denied Tuesday that he delayed or interfered with investigations into the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene.

Louisiana’s top GOP lawmaker is weighing legislative action against Gov. John Bel Edwards for “gross misconduct and the highest level of deceit” in his response to the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene.

Louisiana’s top GOP lawmaker weighed taking legislative action Monday against Gov. John Bel Edwards for “gross misconduct and the highest level of deceit” in his response to the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene. House Speaker Rep. Clay Schexnayder’s comments followed an Associated Press report that showed the Democratic governor was informed within hours that troopers arresting Greene engaged in a “violent, lengthy struggle," yet he stayed silent for two years as state police told a much different story to the victim’s family and in official reports: that Greene died from a crash after a high-speed chase. “This would demonstrate gross misconduct and the highest level of deceit on behalf of the governor and others,” Schexnayder said in a statement.

What Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards knew, when he knew it and what he did are questions in a civil rights investigation into a deadly arrest and whether police brass obstructed justice.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat in a deep-red state, was immersed in a difficult reelection campaign when he received a text message from the head of the state police: Troopers had engaged in “a violent, lengthy struggle” with a Black motorist, ending with the man’s death. Edwards was notified of the circumstances of Ronald Greene’s death within hours of his May 2019 arrest, according to text messages The Associated Press obtained through a public records request.

Mona Hardin is haunted by the body-camera images of her son Ronald Greene being punched, stunned and dragged by Louisiana State Police.

Ronald Greene’s mother chastised Louisiana state lawmakers Monday for not acting quickly enough to hold state troopers accountable for her son’s deadly 2019 arrest, saying the Black motorist’s death at the end of a high-speed chase was a “murder” that's been covered up, sugarcoated and mired in bureaucracy.

Ahmaud Arbery's mother says she is thankful for justice, but says the murder convictions of the men who cornered and killed her son won't bring him back.

The FBI ordered the new autopsy after body camera footage showed Louisiana troopers beating, stunning and dragging Greene during an attempted arrest.

The FBI ordered the new autopsy after body camera footage showed Louisiana troopers beating, stunning and dragging Greene during an attempted arrest.

Louisiana State Police said that a car crash caused his fatal injuries, but prosecutors have also seen body camera video of troopers beating, stunning and dragging the Black motorist.

Federal authorities say a new autopsy has rejected Louisiana State Police claim that a car crash caused the 2019 death of Ronald Greene.

A reexamined autopsy ordered by the FBI in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene has rejected the Louisiana State Police claim that a car crash caused his fatal injuries.

Growing up in the piney backwoods of northern Louisiana, where yards were dotted with crosses and the occasional Confederate flag, Jacob Brown was raised on hunting, fishing and dreams of becoming a state trooper. Fortunately for Brown, the state police was known as a place where who you knew often trumped what you did, and where most introductory chats eventually got around to a simple question: Who’s your daddy? Jacob Brown is the son of Bob Brown, then part of the state police’s top brass who would rise to second in command despite being reprimanded years earlier for calling Black colleagues the n-word and hanging a Confederate flag in his office.

Growing up in the piney backwoods of northern Louisiana, where yards were dotted with crosses and the occasional Confederate flag, Jacob Brown was raised on hunting, fishing and dreams of becoming a state trooper. Fortunately for Brown, the state police was known as a place where who you knew often trumped what you did, and where most introductory chats eventually got around to a simple question: Who’s your daddy? Jacob Brown is the son of Bob Brown, then part of the state police’s top brass who would rise to second in command despite being reprimanded years earlier for calling Black colleagues the n-word and hanging a Confederate flag in his office.

A former Louisiana State Police trooper has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge in the 2019 beating of a man whose injuries included a broken jaw and broken ribs.

A former Louisiana State Police trooper has been charged with a civil rights violation for pummeling a Black motorist 18 times with a flashlight.

The head of the Louisiana State Police says he wants to know why 67% of his agency’s uses of force in recent years have been directed at Black people.

Graphic body camera video kept secret for more than two years shows a Louisiana State trooper pummeling a Black motorist 18 times with a flashlight — an attack the trooper defended as “pain compliance.”.

Louisiana State Police told staff to preserve records in the case of Ronald Greene, who died in custody in 2019, according to a leaked memo reviewed by Insider.

Ronald Greene died in police custody in 2019. A lawyer for his family told Insider that Louisiana state troopers are leaking the evidence he needs to build a case.

The FBI has ordered another look at the autopsy report to consider new evidence that was not provided after Greene's death in 2019.

The FBI is taking the unusual step of ordering a new look at the autopsy of Black motorist Ronald Greene to consider evidence not provided after his 2019 death, including body camera video of Louisiana state troopers stunning, punching and dragging him during his arrest.

The FBI is taking the unusual step of ordering a new look at the autopsy of Black motorist Ronald Greene to consider evidence not provided after his 2019 death, including graphic body camera video of Louisiana state troopers stunning, punching and dragging him after a high-speed chase. “No cause of death is carved in stone,” Peretti told the AP.

A Louisiana State Police investigator said in documents obtained by USA Today Network that he was blocked from charging an officer in Greene's death.

Notes from the Louisiana State Police's investigation into Ronald Greene's death show top officials blocked the arrest of an officer who was involved.

Mona Hardin, whose son, Ronald Greene, died after being beaten by Louisiana law enforcement, says change will not come until justice is served against police violence.

Preview: Jane Pauley hosts a look "behind the badge," at issues regarding law enforcement in America and around the world.

Activists demand officers involved in Ronald Greene death be fired and charged.

Louisiana State Police did not open an administrative investigation into the troopers’ use of force until 474 days after Ronald Greene’s death.

The National Urban League and other civil rights activists are calling for authorities to fire and prosecute Louisiana State Police troopers involved in the 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, a Black man who died in police custody.

Ronald Greene, a 49-year-old Black man, died after what the police described as resisting arrest and a struggle with officers. The hobble device can be used to restrain someone’s legs without placing them in the compromised hogtie position. Many departments do not track the use of the hobble device, or when it is used to hogtie, in their use-of-force data. They use phrases like maximal restraint, four-point restraint, hobble, RIPP Hobble or Total Appendage Restraint Procedure (TARP). “Are you still with us?” an officer asked Smith as soon as the hogtie was complete.

"They were not professional. They did not conduct themselves as a law enforcement officer should," Governor John Bel Edwards said.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has denounced the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene as “regrettable,” criticizing the state troopers who repeatedly stunned, choked and punched the Black motorist.

The officers attacked Greene after he led them on a chase.

Police initially said that Greene died in a car crash; they later said he died on the way to the hospital. Video of the arrest was published by the AP.

The video shows a fatal encounter between officers and a Black man from 2019.

"I beat the ever-living f--- out of him, choked him and everything else trying to get him under control," a trooper can be heard telling a fellow officer​.

Louisiana State Police have released all body camera footage related to the 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, a Black man who died in custody after a high-speed chase following a traffic violation, Superintendent Col. Lamar Davis said Friday. The videos have been uploaded to the department's YouTube page. The Associated Press earlier this week obtained and published some recordings of the incident, which showed officers tasing, punching, and placing Greene in a chokehold as he pleaded with them. In another video, obtained by CNN before its release by state police, a trooper, seemingly a supervisor, appears to praise the other troopers for how the handled they arrest. The officers' treatment of Greene has been described as "torture" and "sadistic" by a former police officer and a use-of-force expert. An autopsy report obtained by CNN was uncertain about the cause of death, but said lacerations of Greene's head were "most consistent with multiple impacts from a blunt object." On Friday, Davis offered his "sincere condolences" to Greene's family and said the department has and will continue to make "significant change." Read more at The Washington Post and CNN. More stories from theweek.com5 riotously funny cartoons about GOP resistance to the January 6 CommissionWhy Emily Wilder got fired and Chris Cuomo didn'tAngelina Jolie stands perfectly still, unshowered, covered in bees for World Bee Day

The AP obtained and published 46 minutes of the graphic footage this week. On Friday night, police released nine videos related to the death of Greene.

The 49-year-old died in May 2019 following a traffic stop by Louisiana police

The body-camera footage was released two years after Ronald Greene died in Louisiana State Police custody.

Ronald Greene was stopped by troopers in Louisiana in May of 2019 after leading them on a high-speed chase.

"I'm your brother! I'm scared! I'm scared!" Ronald Greene can be heard telling Louisiana state troopers in the footage, released two years later in a case that has been shrouded in secrecy.

Louisiana troopers can be seen on a dark roadside stunning, punching and dragging Ronald Green as he apologizes for leading them on a high-speed chase

New court filings show Louisiana State Police troopers joked in a group text about beating a Black man after a high-speed chase last year, saying the beating would give the man nightmares for a long time. “He gonna be sore tomorrow for sure,” Trooper Jacob Brown, who was charged in the case and resigned Wednesday, texted three of his colleagues. They also exchanged 14 text messages peppered with “lol” and “haha” responses in which they boasted about the beating and mocked Harris. DeMoss and Harper also are charged in Harris' arrest and were placed on administrative leave after the internal investigation. Troopers initially blamed 49-year-old's death on a crash at the end of a high-speed chase.

A Louisiana State Police trooper has been suspended without pay for kicking and dragging Greene, a handcuffed Black man whose in-custody death remains unexplained and the subject of a federal civil rights investigation. Body camera footage shows Master Trooper Kory York dragging Greene on his stomach by the leg shackles following a violent arrest and high-speed pursuit, according to internal State Police records obtained by The Associated Press. (Courtesy of the Greene family via AP)A Louisiana State Police trooper has been suspended without pay for kicking and dragging a handcuffed Black man whose in-custody death remains unexplained and the subject of a federal civil rights investigation. The video shows troopers choking and beating the man, repeatedly jolting him with stun guns and dragging him face-down across the pavement, the attorney told AP. AdState Police have repeatedly refused to publicly release the body camera footage.

Greene died following a police chase in Louisiana in 2019, and his death is now under federal investigation. “This family has been lied to the entire time about what happened,” said civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who also viewed the footage. Police initially told Greene’s family he had “died on impact” after crashing into a tree, the doctor wrote. Greene’s death, which followed a chase near Monroe over an unspecified traffic violation, was ruled accidental and attributed to cardiac arrest, said Renee Smith, the Union Parish coroner who was not in office when that determination was made. The State Police report refers to Greene crashing into a tree as the “the most harmful event” in the crash.

(Michael M. Santiago/Pool via AP)A Louisiana state trooper has died following a single-vehicle highway crash that happened just hours after he learned he would be fired for his role last year in the in-custody death of a Black man. But Greene’s family alleges troopers used excessive force and “brutalized” him while taking him into custody. State Police, despite growing pressure, have repeatedly declined to release body-camera footage and other records related to Greene’s arrest, citing the ongoing investigations. The controversy deepened last week when Greene’s family released graphic photographs showing deep bruises and cuts to his face, and other photos showing his car with little damage. That came Sept. 9 — the same day the AP filed a records request for body camera footage of Greene’s arrest.

The death of the 49-year-old remains shrouded in secrecy because State Police have declined to release body-camera footage related to the May 2019 chase north of Monroe, La. (Courtesy of the Greene family via AP)A Louisiana state trooper was critically injured early Monday in a single-vehicle highway crash that came hours after learning he would be fired for his role last year in the in-custody death of a Black man. The crash Monday that critically wounded Hollingsworth happened along Interstate 20 in Monroe shortly before 3 a.m., just hours after the trooper received a letter Sunday of “intent for discipline,” said Capt. Greene's death also remains the subject of a civil rights investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department. He called for an investigation of “everybody up the chain of command” who had been aware of the agency's response to Greene's death.

The handling of Greene's death has eroded the agency's credibility even further, said Eugene W. Collins, president of the Baton Rouge branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Shreveport confirmed the federal investigation into Greene's death but declined further comment. State Police have released few details about Greene's death. Greene's family contends the crash was not serious enough to account for his fatal injuries. “Obviously the body cam footage is critical,” said Mark Maguire, a Philadelphia attorney also representing Greene's family.