In May 2019, 49-year-old Ronald Greene was pulled over for a traffic violation. We know how those go. Greene did too, so he ran – but Louisiana state troopers caught him. And that’s the end of his story, they said … until now.
Lt. John Clary, one of six officers on the scene, told investigators there was no bodycam footage. And after they delivered a dead Greene to the hospital, even the doctor said it didn’t “add up” that he died from a “car crash.”
Metropolitan Crime Commission president Rafael Goyeneche says this “reeks of a potential cover up.” Before Clary hurried to stop his camera in the now-public 30-minute video, officers punched, stunned, choked, shackled, and dragged Greene facedown.
All the while, Greene was crying, “I’m scared. I’m scared … I’m sorry!”
You don't even need to watch the video to feel angry. To want justice. But justice won’t be more resources wasted on police de-escalation and racial bias training – reforms like these have proven to be less effective than many believe.
As for bodycams? Apparently, all an officer has to do is turn it off or lie that footage never existed.
It’s been over 750 days and counting since Greene’s death. And, the more time we spend trying to “fix” a white supremacist system instead of getting rid of it, the more Black people will die.