There is a town in Louisiana called Farmerville. Five Louisiana law enforcement officers were charged Thursday with state crimes ranging from negligent homicide to malfeasance in the deadly arrest of Ronald Greene, a death authorities initially blamed on a car crash before long suppressed body-camera video showed white officers beating, stunning and dragging the Black motorists as he was being arrested.
An Associated Press investigation exposed a cover-up and led to scrutiny of top Louisiana State Police brass.
"We're all excited for the indictments but are they actually going to pay for it?" asked the mother of the man who was indicted in the case, who has kept the pressure on state and federal investigators. We want something to stick even though we're happy.
Master Trooper Kory York, who was seen on the body-camera footage dragging Greene by his ankle shackles, put his foot on his back and left the heavyset man face down in the dirt for more than nine minutes. The state police's own force instructor said the troopers' actions were "torture and murder." York was accused of 10 counts of malfeasance.
A trooper who denied the existence of his body-camera footage, a regional state police commander, and a Union Parish sheriff were all charged with malfeasance and obstruction of justice.
The indictments were praised by the Union Parish District Attorney, who said the people had spoken.
At the request of the U.S. Justice Department, the state charges were not pursued. The state grand jury was given the go-ahead this spring, despite the fact that federal prosecutors were starting to doubt their ability to prove that the officers acted fully.
The troopers' use of force and their decision to leave the handcuffed Greene prone for several minutes before rendering aid have been considered by the panel. For the first time in the case, a medical expert thought the death was a murder.
The federal grand jury investigation, which expanded last year to examine whether state police brass obstructed justice to protect the troopers, remains open, and prosecutors have been tight-mouthed about when the panel could make a decision on charges.
When authorities told grieving relatives that the 49-year-old died in a car crash at the end of a high-speed chase near Monroe, they didn't tell anyone else. A coroner's report listed the cause of death as a motor vehicle accident, a state police crash report omitted any mention of troopers using force and state police began an internal investigation.
The body-camera video was not released to the public because of ongoing investigations and the initial autopsy was not released because of it.
Last year, the AP obtained and published the footage, which showed what really happened: troopers swarmed his car, punched him in the head, dragged him by the shackles, and left him prone on the ground for more than nine minutes. At times, he begged for mercy and wailed, "I'm your brother!" I'm afraid. I'm afraid.
York told Greene to lay on his belly. Christopher Harpin can be heard saying, "Yeah, yeah, that hurts, doesn't it?"
If the charges aren't dismissed before the trial, both York and Harpin will be acquitted. Dakota DeMoss, the former trooper whose body camera captured much of the arrest, declined to speak. A request for comment in the courthouse was not responded to. John Peters didn't want to comment.
Federal scrutiny of the troopers was brought about by the fact that top brass may have interfered with justice.
The meeting in which detectives say that state police commanders pressured them to hold off on arresting a trooper seen on body-camera video hitting Greene in the head was the focus of the investigation. Chris Hollingsworth died in a high-speed, single-vehicle crash in 2020 just hours after he was told he would be fired over his role in the arrest.
At least a dozen cases over the past decade in which state police troopers or their bosses ignored or concealed evidence of beatings of mostly Black men have been found by The Associated Press. Dozens of current and former troopers said the beatings were condoned by a culture of impunity.
The Louisiana State Police were the subject of a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Justice Department this year.
Scrutiny has turned to the actions of the governor.
A legislative panel launched an all-levels investigation into the state's handling of the case after the AP reported that the troopers arresting Greene engaged in a "violent, lengthy struggle."
The governor, his staff and the state police didn't act quickly to get the body-camera video of Greene's death into the hands of those with the power to charge him.
He has described the troopers' actions as both criminal and racist, and he has repeatedly said he did nothing to influence or hinder the investigation. He hasn't testified yet because he wasn't able to appear at a hearing last month.
A spokesman for the governor told the AP that he intends to cooperate. It hasn't changed.
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