Ronald Green: Legal, Civil Rights Groups Denounce Brutal Beating and Killing Perpetrated by Louisiana State Police

Photos: Family photo\AP

The fallout continues from the recently released police video by the Associated Press showing Ronald Greene being "tortured to death" (graphic photo shown above) by Louisiana State Police officers on the night of May 10, 2019.

The release of this video--after two years--was labelled as a "premature" and "unauthorized release of evidence" by the Louisiana State Police. They also complained it "was not obtained through official sources" and claimed that it "undermines the investigative process and compromises the fair and impartial outcome for the Greene family, LSP employees, and the community."

These statements are angering many.

Several civil and legal rights organizations issued the following statement regarding the comments made by the Louisiana State Police and the release after two years of the police body-camera footage which contradicts the official story which was told about the death of Greene.

The NAACP, ACLU of Louisiana, VOTE, ADL South Central Region (Anti-Defamation League), Urban League of Louisiana, and VERA Institute for Justice issue the following statement in response to the release of bodycam footage showing the killing of Ronald Greene at the hands of Louisiana State Police:

"Today, we saw limited video footage of Louisiana State Police officers brutally assaulting Ronald Greene and failing to render aid once he was under their control. It’s apparent that Mr. Greene died from his wounds and not the fictitious car accident reported by these officers to cover up his death in 2019.

The statement issued by the Louisiana State Police exacerbates the distrust that this gruesome incident has engendered within the community. Mr. Greene’s death did not happen in a vacuum. There have been recent, deeply troubling incidents involving excessive force and racism by the State Police directed at people of color.

There has been no public transparency since Mr. Greene’s death 474 days ago and no relief to the heartbreak experienced by his family. Yet the State Police’s statement is only concerned about the unauthorized release of the appalling video, and not its disturbing content. This apathetic response, and the apparent continuing cover-up of this incident demonstrates why the State Police should not be responsible for investigating how Mr. Greene died, and calls into question whether systemic racism has inappropriately influenced the agency’s assessment and reporting on similar incidents across the state over many years.

While we await the results of the FBI’s ongoing investigation, we call on the Louisiana State Police leadership to release all videos of this incident in their possession and urge Governor Edwards to implement independent oversight of the agency as a whole.”