In the late hours of a May evening in 2019, the life of Ronald Greene, a 49-year-old Black male, came to a tragic and violent end on a roadside in Louisiana. The initial story told to his family was a simple one: he had died in a car crash following a high-speed chase. However, the truth, which would remain concealed for two years, was far more disturbing and would only begin to surface with the eventual release of body camera footage.
The chase began near Monroe after state troopers attempted to pull Greene over for an unspecified traffic violation. What followed was a pursuit that ended with Greene's car stopping, but for him, the ordeal was just beginning.
As troopers swarmed his vehicle, Greene could be heard pleading for mercy, saying, 'I'm your brother! I'm scared! I'm scared!' Despite his hands being visible and his pleas, he was met with a brutal response. Officers repeatedly used a stun gun on him, punched him, and placed him in a chokehold. After he was shackled by his ankles, he was dragged face down. For more than nine minutes, he was left lying on his stomach, a position that use-of-force experts say could have dangerously restricted his breathing. The troopers' own words, captured on audio, painted a chilling picture of the events. One trooper, Chris Hollingsworth, was recorded saying he 'beat the ever-living f--- out of him.'
The initial official reports were starkly different from the reality captured on video. The first story of a fatal car crash was quickly questioned by an emergency room doctor who noted that Greene's bruised and battered body 'does not add up' with the minor damage to his vehicle. An initial coroner's report ruled his death accidental, caused by cardiac arrest. It wasn't until a reexamined autopsy was ordered by the FBI that the crash narrative was officially rejected, and a medical examiner ultimately ruled the death a homicide. This second autopsy noted that his injuries were not consistent with a car crash.
The aftermath of Greene's death was marked by a slow-moving investigation and allegations of a cover-up. It took over two years for the body camera footage to be publicly released by the Associated Press, which finally brought the violent reality of Greene's final moments to light. In December 2022, five law enforcement officers were indicted on state charges. The officers involved, all of whom were white, included Louisiana State Troopers Kory York, Dakota DeMoss, and John Clary, as well as a Union Parish sheriff's deputy. York faced the most serious charge of negligent homicide for dragging Greene and leaving him face down. Hollingsworth, the trooper who boasted about the beating, died in a single-vehicle car crash just hours after learning he was going to be fired for his role in the incident.
The path to justice has been fraught with setbacks. A judge dismissed obstruction of justice charges against two of the officers. In September 2024, prosecutors dropped the negligent homicide charge against Kory York, leaving him to face multiple felony malfeasance counts. By early 2025, only two of the originally charged officers still faced legal consequences at the state level. In January 2025, federal prosecutors announced they would not be filing any charges against the troopers, closing their lengthy investigation. While a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by Greene's family is still pending, the criminal proceedings have largely dwindled, leaving a sense of justice unfulfilled for a life lost on a dark Louisiana road.
