NEW ORLEANS — It’s taken two years for the brutal beating and death of Ronald Greene in Louisiana State Police custody to come into focus.
Last week, Louisiana State Police released all of the body camera footage associated with the case. But why did it take the public so long to see the body camera footage? And what led up to this moment?
Here’s a closer look at what we know about the timeline of the case.
Greene led police on a high-speed chase through Monroe on May 10, 2019. Troopers then got him out of his car, tazed him several times, beat him, and dragged him.
Greene spent more than nine minutes in a prone position, face down on the ground, and was dragged by his ankles at one point.
Police reported that Greene’s case was a traffic fatality, and did not release body camera video. Greene’s mother, Mona Hardin, told the Associated Press soon after that she knew something was wrong right away.
In May of 2020, Greene’s family files a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging state troopers “brutalized” Greene and left him “beaten, bloodied, and in cardiac arrest.”
August 25th, 2020, 474 days after Green’s death, Louisiana State Police opened an internal investigation.
A few weeks later, September 9th, Trooper Chris Hollingsworth, one of several troopers on the scene who tampered with their body cameras during Greene’s arrest, was placed on leave.
On September 14th, 2020, 16 months after Green’s death, the Associated Press reported that the FBI and Department of Justice were looking into civil rights investigations.
A few days later, photos of Greene’s autopsy leaked. The photos showed deep bruises and gashes on Greene, but relatively minor damage to his car. The photos cast major doubt on LSP’s claim that Green died in a crash.
Then, in late September Trooper Chris Hollingsworth learned he would be fired. He died the next day, September 22nd, 2020, in a car crash.
On October 1, 2020, audio of Hollingsworth after the encounter with Greene leaked to the Associated Press. In the audio, which was later revealed to be part of his body camera video from the night of Greene’s arrest, Hollingsworth says to a fellow trooper,
“And I beat the ever living f— out of him, choked him and everything trying to get him under control. … and then he just went limp.”
Almost immediately after, leaders like Louisiana State Representative Edward “Ted” James put more pressure on state police.
“When this became an issue to us, the Black Caucus immediately sprang into action,” said Rep. James. “We met with the Governor, and the governor asked state police and the district attorney to allow the family and their attorneys to see the video. Now, that is unprecedented.”
According to Governor John Bel Edwards, on October 14th, 2020, he and Green’s family, along with some other interested parties, viewed the body camera footage related to Greene’s death. But the video was still kept from the public eye.
“State Police didn’t release it because the D-A asked that it not be released before the investigation was concluded, and then subsequently the US Department of Justice initiated an investigation and made the same request,” said Governor Edwards.
Next came changes within state police. In October 2020, Superintendent Kevin Reeves announced he would retire, amid multiple swirling controversies.
Photos: Deadly arrest Ronald Greene by Louisiana State Police
Governor Edwards appointed Colonel Lamar Davis the new superintendent.
In January of 2021, Trooper Kory York, who also tampered with his body camera during Greene’s arrest, was suspended for 50 hours.
And then in May of 2021, the bombshell. A clip of body camera footage leaked to the Associated Press, making national headlines.
The renewed interest in the case put pressure on State Police to release more videos related to the case. State Police announced Friday that it would release all body camera footage related to the case, which includes body cameras and dash-camera footage from four different troopers’ perspectives.
Even though state police released the footage, federal investigations have not concluded.
Superintendent Col. Davis has promised to “follow the facts” and hold his personnel accountable.
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