Civil Rights Teams Name for Unbiased Oversight of LSP Following Ronald Greene Footage Launch

Ivan Radic is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In a damning joint statement released Thursday, the NAACP, Louisiana ACLU, VOTE, ADL South Central Region, Louisiana Urban League, and the VERA Institute for Justice made a statement calling on Governor John Bel Edwards called for independent third party oversight to be implemented by the Louisiana State Police (LSP) after LSP officers released horrific footage of the murder of Ronald Greene.

“Today we saw limited video footage of Louisiana state police officers who brutally assaulted Ronald Greene and provided no assistance when he was under their control,” the statement said. “It is evident that Mr. Greene died from his wounds and not the fictional car accident that officials reported trying to cover up his 2019 death.”

Greene was killed after a brief police chase that resulted in a crash outside of Monroe, LA on May 10, 2019. While the first police reports did not mention the use of violence, the body camera video obtained and published by the Associated Press shows police cursing Greene before he is forcibly removed from the vehicle. “OK, OK,” Greene can be heard saying. “I’m sorry. I’m scared. Officer, I’m scared. I’m your brother. I’m scared.”

After being removed from the vehicle, Greene can be heard groaning on the ground. A police officer kicks him several times while he is being handcuffed. Another may complain that Greene has blood on him. According to the Associated Press, Greene lay face down for more than nine minutes while officials washed his blood from his face and hands.

After the video was released, the LSP issued a statement that the release of the footage was unauthorized and that the video was not obtained from official sources.

“The declaration by the LSP intensifies the suspicion that this cruel incident aroused in the community,” said the joint declaration by the ADL. “Sir. Greene’s death did not happen in a vacuum. There have been deeply worrying incidents of excessive violence and racism by state police directed against people of color recently.

There has been no public transparency or relief to his family’s heartbreak since Mr Greene’s death 474 days ago. However, the state police testimony only deals with the unauthorized publication of the horrific video and not with its disruptive content. This apathetic response, and the apparent continued cover-up of this incident, illustrate why state police should not be responsible for investigating Mr Greene’s death, and questions whether systemic racism inappropriately affects the agency’s assessment and reporting of similar incidents in all areas the state has for many years. “

An FBI civil rights investigation into Greene’s death is currently ongoing.