5 Louisiana troopers accused of beating a Black driver to death in 2019 and covering it up have been charged

• Ronald Greene died in Louisiana State Police custody in May 2019.
• Video from the scene showed troopers choking and beating him.

More than three years after a Louisiana man died in state police custody as body cameras filmed the troopers choking, beating, and degrading him, five law enforcement officers have been charged in his death.

The Associated Press, which investigated Ronald Greene's May 2019 death and the later cover-up by state police reported the charges Thursday.

State police initially said Greene's May 2019 death was the result of a car crash following a police chase. Later, in a one-page statement that provided no additional details, police acknowledged that Greene, who was Black, had struggled with officers and said he died on his way to the hospital.

After a long fight by Greene's family and the Associated Press, body camera footage was later released and showed troopers choked, beat, and dragged Greene before his death.

In the years since the killing, whistleblowers from within the state police have released internal memos, recordings, and other evidence from the night of Greene's arrest to the media and other involved parties — prompting a deeper investigation into his death.

Homicide and obstruction

On the body camera footage, one trooper was seen dragging Greene by his ankle shackles, pressing him into the ground by his foot, and leaving him face down for more than nine minutes.

That officer, Master Trooper Kory York, was charged with negligent homicide and 10 counts of malfeasance in office, according to the AP.

The grand jury also returned less serious indictments against four other law enforcement officers.

Lt. John Clary is accused of one count of malfeasance and one count of obstruction; State Police Trooper Dakota DeMoss is accused of one count of obstruction of justice; and retired Capt. John Peters is accused of one count of obstruction, according to the AP. Union Parish Deputy Chris Harpin was charged with three counts of obstruction of justice, the AP reported.

"...are they actually going to pay for it?"

The family of Ronald Greene first released a grisly photo in 2020 that showed the extent of the injuries he suffered and called the circumstances of his death into question.

The photo showed injuries to Greene's face that appeared more severe than the superficial damage to the car involved in a crash that troopers initially said killed him.

Then in May 2021, the Associated Press published body camera footage police had refused to release for two years, which showed troopers stunning, hitting, and dragging Greene before his death.

The footage, which is graphic and more than 46 minutes long, shows one trooper putting Greene in a chokehold on the ground and punching him in the face. Another officer calls Greene a "stupid motherf---er."

Greene yells, "I'm sorry," while a trooper stuns him on his backside. The trooper tells Greene, "Look, you're going to get it again if you don't put your f---ing hands behind your back." A different officer drags Greene facedown after he's restrained with handcuffs.

The troopers leave Greene lying facedown and moaning as they clean themselves up.

Months before the video was released, though, whistleblowers started leaking information about the night, a lawyer for Greene's family previously told Insider.

In October 2020, a whistleblower leaked audio from the body camera mic of a state trooper who matter-of-factly said he beat Greene before his death, Ron Haley, who was an attorney for the family, previously told Insider.

"I beat the ever-living f--- out of him," Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth said in a audio clip obtained by The Associated Press, adding that he "choked him and everything else trying to get him under control."We finally got him in handcuffs when a third man got there, and the son of a b----- was still fighting him, was still wrestling with him trying to hold him down," Hollingsworth said in the audio clip. "He was spitting blood everywhere and all of a sudden he just went limp."

Hollingsworth himself died in a car crash in September 2020, hours after learning he was being fired in connection with Greene's death, the AP reported.

Haley told Insider in July 2021 that leaks have emerged at a steady clip since the audio of Officer Hollingsworth. That month, a memo from Gail Holland, the state police deputy general counsel, sent to staff was obtained by local TV station WBRZ. The memo, which Insider later reviewed, advised all Department of Public Safety agency staff "to preserve potential evidence by taking the appropriate steps to ensure that potential evidence relevant to the Ronald Greene matter is preserved and not deleted, damaged, or destroyed."

Haley told Insider at the time that the fact that the department needed to send out a memo to tell staff not to delete records indicates the state police may be obstructing justice.

When charges were announced Thursday, Greene's mother, Mona Hardin, told the AP that she still questioned whether justice would be served.

"We're all excited for the indictments but are they actually going to pay for it?" she said, according to the AP. "As happy as we are, we want something to stick."