Reexamined autopsy related to the fatal arrest of Ronald Greene rejects a claim by Louisiana State Police that he died from injuries sustained in a car crash
- A new autopsy rejected Louisiana State Police claims that Ronald Greene died from a car crash.
- In May 2019, Greene failed to pull over for a traffic violation, prompting a high-speed chase.
A reexamined autopsy related to the fatal arrest of Ronald Greene in 2019 rejected a claim by Louisiana State Police that Greene died from injuries he sustained in a car crash, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
On May 10, 2019, police said Greene did not pull over for a traffic violation, prompting officers to chase Greene on rural highways at speeds exceeding 115 mph near Monroe, Louisiana.
State police initially claimed Greene, a Black man, died after crashing into a tree, corroborated by an official report by the Union Parish coroner describing Greene's death as a motor vehicle accident.
Earlier this year, the Associated Press obtained 46 minutes of footage from police body cameras, showing officers stunning, hitting, and dragging Greene as he repeatedly yells "I'm sorry" for the car chase and says he was scared. Louisiana State Police later released all video footage related to the controversial arrest and subsequent death of Greene.
State officials dismissed calls to release the footage for two years following the incident, and state police didn't open an investigation into Greene's in-custody death until 474 days after he died. The case is currently the subject of a federal civil-rights investigation.
The release of body camera footage of the incident prompted the Federal Bureau of Investigation to take a rare step and order a reexamination of the autopsy in July of this year.
The unusual second forensic review, which included vehicle black box data and other evidence that was withheld by state police in the original autopsy, revealed that the "minor" crash at the end of the high-speed chase "had nothing to do with" his death, the AP reported Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear if the official report by the Union Parish coroner will be amended to reflect the newly revealed information.
The results of the autopsy reexamination come in the final stages of the federal civil-rights suits as prosecutors build their case to bring charges to troopers involved in the incident.
"This yanks the rug from under the defense claim that the accident caused his death and that the beatings weren't that severe," Rafael Goyeneche, a former prosecutor with the New Orleans-based watchdog group Metropolitan Crime Commission, told the AP.
Greene's mother, Mona Hardin, told the news outlet that she hopes the new autopsy results will bring about justice for him "so I can put my son to rest."
"This thing has been so crazy. No one has properly grieved," she added, saying that the family has yet to bury Greene's cremated remains.
A Louisiana State Police spokesperson told Insider in a statement that the department "continues to offer our full cooperation and has been provided no further information on the ongoing federal investigation."
"As the department awaits the findings of the federal investigation, the men and women of the Department of Public Safety remain dedicated to professional public service across our state," the spokesperson continued.
Representatives from the Justice Department did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.