Ronald Greene’s family say they haven’t had time to mourn after seeing video two years later of his fatal encounter with police
“I haven’t processed what happened to him, if there’s even such a way of properly processing,” his mother Mona Hardin told CNN’s Don Lemon on Thursday.
In 2019, Greene’s family said they were told that he died on impact when his car crashed after a police pursuit.
Now, video obtained by the Associated Press shows Greene face down on the road after the crash outside the city of Monroe being tased and kicked by LSP officers as he tells them he is scared. Initial reports of the incident from state police did not mention there was a struggle between Greene and the officers.
Greene died on his way to hospital, according to the LSP Criminal Investigations Division.
CNN has reached out to the officers’ attorneys for comment on the video.
Greene’s sister, Alana Wilson, said she saw the video for the first time on Wednesday. She told CNN’s Chris Cuomo that authorities have sent the family on a “runaround” since his death, never giving them correct or full information.
“I’m still on the hunt and on a chase for justice for my brother,” Wilson said. “I can’t even grieve my brother properly knowing that they did this to an innocent human being.”
The incident involved “a cover-up on many levels,” she said, and the family is calling for accountability from everyone involved, particularly the officers who Hardin said “allowed him to just slowly die on the spot.”
“What these guys did to my son and the cover-up that ensued behind all that… someone has to stay focused and my family will,” Hardin said. “What they did to Ronnie, they have to pay the penalties.”
What the video showed
In three brief video clips posted by the news agency, Greene can be heard apologizing to the officers that night, saying he was scared and supplicating for their mercy.
Greene’s car door is opened. A Taser goes off.
“OK, OK,” Greene is heard saying. “I’m sorry. I’m scared. Officer, I’m scared. I’m your brother. I’m scared.”
Moments before, an officer approached Greene’s car, his weapon drawn: “Let me see your f**king hands m*therf**ker.”
After being tased, Greene can be heard moaning while still on the ground and being put in handcuffs by one officer, while another officer kicks him several times. An officer can be heard saying, “I’ve got blood all over me, I hope this guy ain’t got f**king AIDS,” as Greene continues to moan. At one point an officer drags Greene.
The Associated Press reports that Greene is left lying face down moaning for more than nine minutes while officers used sanitizer wipes to wash blood off their hands and faces. This is not in any of the video segments the AP has posted online.
The release of the clips comes as the US Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are investigating the death, along with the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana and the FBI.
In a statement, the LSP said it did not release the video and that it was not authorized or obtained by official sources. LSP said it had been directed by investigating agencies to not release any evidence or further information on the case.
Family says he was a person who loved people
The man who told officers “You’re my brother” is who Greene really was, his family told CNN.
Wilson said her brother was someone who loved people. “He exuded that even in the midst of them taking him down,” she said.
Hardin said she is struggling now, not having the son who would always try to get her to take a more positive view on things when she was feeling down, telling her “Ma, you’re not looking at it the way you should look at it.”
His favorite phrase, she said, was “We’re winning.”
Initial report doesn’t mention a struggle
A state official with knowledge of the Greene investigation told CNN that the LSP was investigating the incident as a criminal matter the night of the event.
“State police investigators were there onsite that night and launched a criminal investigation,” a source with direct knowledge of the incident told CNN. The state official was not authorized to speak to the media because the case is pending federal review.
But the initial state police crash report made no mention of troopers using force or arresting Greene.
The report from the LSP said that two troopers pursued a vehicle being driven by Greene following an attempt to pull him over for an unspecified traffic violation and the pursuit ended when Greene crashed his vehicle.
The first mention of a struggle came when the in-custody death was investigated by the Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division after Greene’s daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit in May 2020.
“Greene was taken into custody after resisting arrest and a struggle with Troopers,” the report said. “A short time later Greene became unresponsive and was transported to Glenwood Medical Center by Pafford Medical Service.”
He died on the way to the hospital, the report said.
AP reported last year that Union Parish Coroner Renee Smith said Greene’s death was ruled accidental and was attributed to cardiac arrest.
Two officers involved in the incident were reprimanded for their actions that night two years ago, including not following procedures for body-worn cameras.
One officer is on administrative leave in connection with a separate incident. Another officer received a 50-hour suspension, according to an LSP spokesperson.
A third officer — who was heard in an audio recording last year describing beating “the ever-living f***” out of Greene — died in a single-vehicle crash in September.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.
