Ronald Greene, 49, died on May 10, 2019 in Monroe, in the north of this southern state of the United States, after a chase with police officers who said he had committed an offense while driving.
Videos of the arrest leading to the death of an African American in 2019, released this week by the Louisiana Police Department, contradicted the version of events given by officers, who claimed his death was caused by a car accident.
Ronald Greene, 49, died on May 10, 2019 in Monroe, in the north of this southern state of the United States, after a chase with police officers who said he had committed an offense while driving.
According to his family, police said he died instantly, hitting a tree with his car as he tried to escape. The police later admitted that the African American did not die immediately and that his agents had used force in a way they then described as justified.
Pictures contradict the initial version of the facts
Images from the pedestrian cameras of the police officers present, revealed Friday by the state police two days after the publication of extracts by the American media, contradict the initial version of the facts.
Media snippets show officers opening the door to Ronald Greene’s car, using a Taser pulse gun as he shouts out that he is “sorry” and “scared”. A policeman then knocks him down, gives him a choke hold and hits him in the face.
He is again stacked, and left face down and handcuffed for several minutes. On the videos released by the police, filmed from other angles, Ronald Greene moans in pain, on the ground, and does not appear to offer resistance. We hear an agent say to have “tied him and all, while trying to control him (…). We were trying to force him to stay on the ground, because he was spitting blood everywhere and then, all of a sudden. suddenly, his body softened “.
Police prosecutions in May 2020
Louisiana police tried to justify keeping these images secret until the press releases were released.
The police “had the firm intention (…) to publish all the necessary evidence and information at the appropriate time”, affirmed one of its officials, Lamar Davis, during a press conference on Friday.
“It is unfortunate that the road to get there has taken so long,” he added, while assuring that the extracts published in the media on Wednesday were “not complete or contextualized”.
In May 2020, Ronald Greene’s family filed a lawsuit against the police, accusing them of causing his death.
According to them, the front of Ronald Greene’s vehicle did not show signs of a collision, and the results of an independent autopsy showed head injuries incompatible with a car accident.
In September, the FBI, the US federal police, opened an investigation into the death of Ronald Greene.
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