Six Louisiana State Troopers Tortured an Unarmed Black Man to Death After a Car Chase #BlackLivesMatter
How Louisiana State Troopers handcuffed, beat, tased, shackled and dragged a defenseless unarm black man on his stomach
When will this nightmare end? Some law enforcement officers, deputies and state troopers are killing people of color and getting away with it, oftentimes without punish. Ronald Greene fled for his life during a high-speed chase. The Louisiana State Police Trooper Dakota DeMoss’ body-work camera showed Ronald Greene, a 49 year old Black Barber business man was treated worst than cattle by Trooper Kory York who shackled and dragged him a he laid helpless on his stomach after having being beaten severely. On the video, Greene can be heard apologizing and pleading for his life as he agonized with pain on every part of his body after being punched and beaten by multiple Louisiana state troopers. Unarmed Ronald Greene screamed, “I’m your brother! I’m scared! I’m scared!”, to the white troopers as they repeatedly tazed him with a stun gun before he got out of his car along a dark, rural road.
This happened almost two years ago, May 10, 2019, outside of Monroe, Louisiana, when Greene was murdered at the hands of these state troopers and his death was ruled a car accident while the law enforcement refused to release the video cam footage. Currently, the federal civil rights investigation are looking into what is obvious a racist crime by these state troopers. The cause of Mr. Greene’s death was a well kept secret and accusations of a cover up from Mr. Greene’s family and the public.
Two years passed as the Louisiana officials sat on the video cam footage protecting their own and perpetuating this type of behavior as they refused to respond to inquest regarding the details surrounding Mr. Greene’s death. These Troopers lied to Greene’s family that he died on impact from a car crash into a tree during the chase. Then the State Police released a statement that Mr. Greene struggled with troopers and died on his way to the hospital. This case is riddled with lies, and coverups throughout from the officials to state troopers. Qualified immunity is alive and well!
For the first time in two years, the public can see what really happened on that dreadful night from the trooper’s body camera. For 46 minutes, unarmed Mr. Greene was wrestled to the ground, put into a chokehold and punched in the face while another shouted derogatory comments, e.g. “stupid motherf__.” Greene wailed, “I’m sorry!” as another trooper delivered another stun gun shock to his backside and warned, “Look, you’re going to get it again if you don’t put your f — hands behind your back!” On the video, another trooper dragged him facedown with his legs shackled and hands cuffed behind his back, like a cattle.
To add insult to injury, as Greene lay bludgeoned, these troopers stood around as he agonized in pain, using sanitizer to wipe blood from their hands and faces. These troopers are animals and should not be in law enforcement. Never once administered any first aid or nothing. This is barbaric as one stated, “I hope this guy ain’t got f — AIDS.” Disgusting and inhumane. These troopers even had the audacity to cutoff their camera’s microphone during this murder, as they knew exactly what they were doing. With a least six troopers present, all didn’t have their body cameras on. This speaks volume.
Later Greene was loaded into an ambulance, body limp, bleeding from his head and face, with his arm cuffed to the bedrail. Yes, I agree with Greene’s mother, “They murdered him. It was set out; it was planned, he didn’t have a chance, Ronnie didn’t have a chance, he wasn’t going to live to tell about it.”
Well, it can easily be deducted why the Louisiana State Police declined to comment on the contents of the video claiming some legal ease, about premature release of the video or undermining the investigative process. Two years later, still avoiding the truth as it sits on the backburner minds of these state troopers. All smells of coverup within the law enforcement community.
From the videocam footage, murder lies right before your eyes. These state troopers knew what was on the video and their superior, as the the state police brass initially argued that these troopers’ use of force was justified, awful but lawful and fail to move forward in any investigation until 474 days after Greene’s death. One unarmed Black man against about six state troopers, whose only crime was running for his life that he felt was imminent and he was correct in his assessment.
Not all law enforcement are bad but there exist some deadly perpetuators who are attacking people of color any chance they can, for any reason and mainly for being a person of color. The law can only protect for awhile but karma comes looking for everyone or even their descendants, sooner or later. Checkout the Tulsa, Oklahoma massacre, for one.
As stated by Andrew Scott, a former Boca Raton, Florida police chief , who testified as an expert witness in use-of-force cases stated, “Police departments have got to stop putting roadblocks up to information that is, in the public’s eye, questionable. They have to reveal all that they know, when they know it,” and all suggests that you’re hiding something.” He went on to convey that regardless of what Greene may or may not have done did not justify being dragged face down, handcuff and ankle shackled, as “malicious, sadistic, completely unnecessary.” That should never have happened, he said. “You’ve got the guy completely compromised. He’s not hurting anybody,” Scott said.
Charles Key, another use-of-force expert and former Baltimore police lieutenant, questioned the troopers’ decision to leave Greene unattended, handcuffed and prone for several minutes, calling the practice “just dead wrong.” “You don’t leave somebody lying on the ground, particularly after you’ve had this fight,” Key said. “The training has been for a number of years that, as soon as you get someone under control, you put them on their side to facilitate their breathing … and particularly this guy, because he was very heavy.”
While nothing will bring Mr. Greene back to his family, these troopers and the State Troopers department, need to be held accountable. The Greene’s family filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit alleging troopers “brutalized” Greene, and “left him beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest and for covering up the cause of death. The Greene’s family shared photos of Ronald Green showing how badly bruised and beaten on his face and head he was.
Where does the truth starts? It should start why they attempted to pull him over and all escalated into a high speed case. That’s where it all starts with the truth. Once stopped, Greene appeared to raise his hands and saying over and over, “OK, OK. I’m sorry.” Nevertheless, he was stun gunned within seconds through the driver’s side window while being demanded by two troopers to exit his car. Soon as he existed, they wrestled him to the ground. One trooper could be heard saying, “He’s grabbing me” as they try to handcuff him. “Put your hands behind your back, bitch,” one trooper says. Then Greene is struck multiple times while lying on one of his arms before being handcuffed. Still not resisting, is dragged with his leg shackled by Trooper Kory York. For this horrendous act, York was suspended for 50 hours for dragging Greene in this manner and for deactivating his body camera claiming it was beeping too loud while his mind was on other things.
There was no remorse to be seen from not one of these state troopers. State Trooper Hollingsworth was heard later telling a colleague at the office that “he beat the ever-living f — out of, Greene, choked him and everything else trying to get him under control, he was spitting blood everywhere, and all of a sudden he just went limp.” Once Hollingsworth learned that he was going to fired for his role in the Greene’s case, he died in a single-vehicle highway crash. Karma is real. DeMoss, one of the troopers, was arrested in connection with another police pursuit last year where he and two other troopers allegedly used excessive force while handcuffing another motorist.
Unbelievable, to hear that Greene’s cause of death remains unclear. Last year the Union Parish Coroner, Renee Smith communicated to officials that Greene’s death was ruled accidental and attributed to cardiac arrest. Also, she added that her office’s file on Greene attributed his death to a car crash and no mention of a struggle with State Police was mentioned. Via the hospital records, the emergency room doctor noted Greene arrived dead at the hospital, bruised and bloodied with two stun-guns prongs in his back. This doctor questioned the troopers initial account that Greene had “died on impact” after crashing into a tree. The doctor wrote, “Does not add up.”
In conclusion, all law enforcement are not bad but there are some that are brutal to people of color and need to be held accountable for their racist actions and the law enforcement union need to stop condoning and protecting this ill behavior. The police work for the people and not against the people. New laws need to be implemented to control the police union and then the police department. Qualified immunity needs to be abolished and desertification needs to be a mandate for all law enforcement officers. Also, when officers turned off their body camera while on duty, there need be disciplinary action taken. Transparency and accountability needs to come to the forefront.
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