Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards knew a Black motorist died in police custody in May 2019, hours after it happened, but remained quiet during his reelection campaign as troopers told a different na

An Associated Press investigation has found that Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards was told that troopers engaged in a violent, lengthy struggle with Ronald Greene hours after he died.

Body camera footage of his arrest was made public and showed state troopers hitting and dragging him, even though police initially said he died in a car crash.

On the morning of May 10, the AP reported that Kevin Reeves, the former Louisiana State Police Supt., sent a text about the incident.

Good morning. The message said that troopers attempted to stop a vehicle in Ouachita Parish. The driver sped through two parishes in excess of 120 mph before crashing. The driver was attempting to be placed under arrest. A lengthy struggle took place. The suspect was taken into custody after troopers and a Union Parish deputy fought with him. The suspect was combative but became unresponsive before paramedics arrived.

According to the AP, the coroner's report only said that he died in a car crash.

As he sought reelection in the majority Republican state, the centrist Democrat did not speak about the case.

The body cam footage was released in May of 2021. The governor had previously shot down calls to release the footage, even after the wrongful-death lawsuit was filed by the family of the man who died.

Even after condemning the troopers, Edwards downplayed their actions.

He was alive when the troopers were engaging with him, so he did not die from injuries sustained in the accident. What was the cause of death? I don't know if that was false.

According to Joshua Stockley, a political scientist at the University of Louisiana Monroe, the silence may have been politically motivated. The support of the Black community and law enforcement was needed by the candidate. Stockley told the AP that the case and the body cam footage would have had an impact on the groups.

Stockley told the AP that the release of the video during the election would have had a profound consequence.

The email request for comment was not responded to by the office.