Police Told Ronald Greene’s Family He Died In Wreck, But Video Shows Officers Kicking, Tasing Him
After Ronald Greene died, Louisiana State Police claimed it was due to an auto accident. New video, however, shows a very different story.
According to a preliminary report, Greene died after resisting and struggling with law enforcement after a chase ended in a crash in 2019. In body camera footage obtained by the Associated Press, Greene is heard pleading with officers and asking for their mercy.
Three brief video clips show Greene’s door opening and a taser going off. "OK, OK," he is heard saying. "I'm sorry. I'm scared. Officer, I'm scared. I'm your brother. I'm scared."
Moments prior, an officer approaches Green’s car with his weapon drawn. "Let me see your f*****g hands m****rf****r."
After being tased, Greene can be heard moaning while still on the ground and being put in handcuffs by an officer while another kicks him several times, according to the footage. One cop can be heard saying, "I've got blood all over me, I hope this guy ain't got f*****g AIDS," as Greene continues to moan. Greene is also dragged at one point in the video.
The AP reports Greene was left lying face down and moaning for more than nine minutes while officers used sanitized wipes to wash blood off themselves. Footage of this is not in any of the videos posted by the AP.
The LSP said in a statement that it did not release the video and that it was not authorized or obtained by official sources. The release of the video comes as the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division investigates the incident. Additionally, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana is looking into what happened.
The initial state police report on Greene’s death does not mention state troopers using force or an arrest.
The LSP’s report said two officers pursued a vehicle being driven by Greene following an attempt to pull over Greene for an unspecified traffic violation and the pursuit ended when Greene crashed his vehicle.
In May 2020, Greene’s daughter filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the officers and claimed her father was "brutalized by Louisiana State Police and Union Parish Deputy Officers which caused his death."
A struggle between Greene and law enforcement officers came to light when his in-custody death was subsequently investigated by the Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division, CNN reports.
"Greene was taken into custody after resisting arrest and a struggle with Troopers," the report said. "A short time later Greene became unresponsive and was transported to Glenwood Medical Center by Pafford Medical Service."
Additionally, the report revealed that Greene died on the way to the hospital.
Lee Merritt, an attorney for Greene’s family compared the video to another, now infamous, video of a Black man being abused by police.The footage, he said, “has some of the same hallmarks of the George Floyd video, the length of it, the sheer brutality of it.
“He apologized in an attempt to surrender,” Merritt told the AP.
