NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Body camera video obtained by The Associated Press shows Louisiana state troopers stunning, punching, and dragging a Black man as he apologizes for leading them on a high-speed chase — footage authorities refused to release in the two years since the man died in police custody.
Ronald Greene can be heard telling the white troopers “I’m scared!" as he is jolted multiple times with a stun gun.
The May 2019 arrest outside of Monroe, Louisiana, is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation. Troopers initially blamed the 49-year-old's death on a crash at the end of the chase.
The NAACP, ACLU of Louisiana, VOTE, ADL South Central Region (Anti-Defamation League), Urban League of Louisiana, and VERA Institute for Justice issued the following statement in response to the release of bodycam footage showing the killing of Ronald Greene at the hands of Louisiana State Police:
“Today, we saw limited video footage of Louisiana State Police officers brutally assaulting Ronald Greene and failing to render aid once he was under their control. It's apparent that Mr. Greene died from his wounds and not the fictitious car accident reported by these officers to cover up his death in 2019.
The statement issued by the Louisiana State Police exacerbates the distrust that this gruesome incident has engendered within the community. Mr. Greene’s death did not happen in a vacuum. There have been recent, deeply troubling incidents involving excessive force and racism by the State Police directed at people of color.
There has been no public transparency since Mr. Greene’s death 474 days ago and no relief to the heartbreak experienced by his family. Yet the State Police’s statement is only concerned about the unauthorized release of the appalling video, and not its disturbing content. This apathetic response and the apparent continuing cover-up of this incident demonstrates why the State Police should not be responsible for investigating how Mr. Greene died and calls into question whether systemic racism has inappropriately influenced the agency’s assessment and reporting on similar incidents across the state over many years.
While we await the results of the FBI’s ongoing investigation, we call on the Louisiana State Police leadership to release all videos of this incident in their possession and urge Governor Edwards to implement independent oversight of the agency as a whole.”