United States: footage of arrest of deceased African American contradicts police version

Another scandal within the American police. Videos of the arrest leading to the death of an African-American in 2019, published this week by the Louisiana police force, have just contradicted the version of the facts given by the agents at the time of the tragedy.

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, according to whom he had committed an offense while driving. According to his family, police assured him that he died instantly, hitting a tree with his car as he tried to escape. Later, the police admitted that the man did not die immediately and that agents had used force, in a way they then described as justified.

Images from the pedestrian cameras of the police officers present were revealed this Friday by the state police, two days after the publication of extracts by the American media. They contradict the initial version of the facts. Media snippets show officers opening the door to Ronald Greene’s car, using an Electric Pulse Gun (Taser) as he shouts “sorry” and “scared”. A policeman then takes him to the ground, gives him a choke hold and hits him in the face. The man receives new electrical impulses, then is left face down and handcuffed for several minutes.

“His body has softened”

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 that he “tied” him, “trying to control him (…). We were trying to force him to stay on the ground, because he was coughing up blood everywhere and then all of a sudden his body softened ”.

Louisiana police tried to justify keeping these images secret until the press releases were released. She “had the firm intention (…) to publish all the necessary evidence and information at the appropriate time,” said one of its officials, Lamar Davis, at 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 Roland Greene.