Big charges came down on Thursday for five police officers in Farmerville, Lousiana. The charges relate to the 2019 shooting of a black man named Ronald Greene, who died horrifically after a traffic stop.
All of this came to light due to video of Greene’s death emerging, which shows the truth about what happened.
What Happened?
On May 19, 2019, police near Monroe, Louisiana spotted a driver who had done something that broke traffic rules. They began following him and signaled for the driver to pull over.
He did not do so and sped up to get away from them, eventually reaching speeds of 115 miles per hour. Greene died on that day; officers said he’d tragically had a car accident and passed away as a result.
However, his family was convinced there was more to the story and kept digging, eventually unturning the body camera video. This video showed five white officers viciously assaulting and beating the man to death on the pavement and leaving him for dead (which he was).
In a political climate where the death of George Floyd made such a hysteria, despite his long criminal history and drug use, it’s surprising Greene’s awful death only got a small amount of attention after the Associated Press began reporting on the case.
Ronald Greene was killed by Louisiana State Police. He can be heard apologizing to officers and telling them he was scared before being tased, dragged and kicked. Police can not be trusted to investigate deaths involving police. #SurvivingAmericasPolice
pic.twitter.com/TgfP8qEiwr— Lance Cooper (@lmauricecpr) May 20, 2021
Horrific Video
In the horrific body camera footage, Greene can be heard saying he’s sorry and begging for his life as he’s tased, beaten, and dragged by his ankles by officer Kory York. This was on the side of the road in northeastern Louisiana.
York shoved Greene down on the ground for over nine minutes with his foot, preventing him from breathing properly, and contributing to his eventual death on that day after being helped by paramedics.
York has now been hit with a charge of negligent homicide.
Greene’s mom says the events of that day resulting in “indictments” are good news for sure, but she won’t feel any more satisfied until actual punishments start being handed down, including for the coverup itself.
Four other officers are also being charged with obstruction of justice and wrongdoing, including one who lied about the body camera video and another who escalated the situation with Greene. This was done by making him appear to be resisting more than he was.
Story needs to get even half attention Twitter suspensions is.
Dogged, yearslong work by AP helped lead to revealing cop coverup in Ronald Greene's beating death https://t.co/1WT59Fyd8i— Chris Iorfida (@ChrisIorfidaCBC) December 16, 2022
‘Inexcusable’
Louisiana police director Lamar Davis called the case “unacceptable” and said he and the whole state police are trying hard to rebuild bridges that were burned with various communities because of crimes like this.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards also said there is “no excuse” for how the video of the crime was not released until last year when AP News got the footage and published it.
It shows officers brutally assaulting Greene, including punching him in the face as he yells that he’s their “brother” and is “scared,” begging them to stop.
The five charged are York, as mentioned, in addition to John Clary, Dakota DeMoss, Christopher Harpin, and John Peters, who tried to hide what had happened.
The sixth individual, Master Trooper John Hollingsworth can’t be charged since he died in a car accident in 2020.
Hollingsworth can be seen on video bragging about smashing the “ever-living f–k” out of Greene. Hollingsworth was buried with full honors following his death in 2020.
Rest in Peace, Ronald
What a tragic and senseless death. These officers deserve to face the full force of the law.
