The Louisiana judge overseeing the case regarding the unlawful arrest and death of Ronald Greene discarded the obstruction of justice charges two of the five officers involved in the killing were facing, AP News reported.
Officers Trooper Dakota DeMoss and Captain John Peters had the obstruction of justice charges filed against them squashed by Judge Thomas Rogers because he believed Peters and DeMoss’ actions amid the fatal arraignment of 49-year-old Greene didn’t fall under the obstruction of justice laws.
Prosecutors filed the charge against Peters because he was allegedly caught saying, “Bury it in the report” and “Don’t send the videos unless they ask for it.” Judge Rogers argued that “bury in the report” meant to place it either in the middle or a lower portion of the report, but not remove it.
As for “Don’t send the videos unless they ask for it,” the judge said Peters said that didn’t necessarily mean he called for eradicating the videos, but to refrain from drawing attention to it.
Yet they weren’t forthcoming with the truth either.
DeMoss had the charge filed against him because he intentionally turned his bodycam audio off to conceal statements made during and after the tragic incident.
Judge Rogers said it wasn’t enough to charge him.
So, instead of the “honorable” judge teaching them and other officers to take accountability for their involvement in tragedies like Greene’s, he’s exemplifying that these already perfidious officers can get away with horrible acts based on technicalities.
“It’s another nail in the coffin for Black and Brown motorists,” Mona Hardin, Greene’s mother, told WBRZ. “That free pass has always existed. They have no problem behaving the way they do, knowing that…the political higher-ups will get them off the hook.”
That same “honorable” Judge Rogers threatened to drop several felony charges against the other officers — Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth, Master Trooper Kory York, Sgt. Floyd McElroy, Lt. John Clary, Dept. Sheriff Christopher Harpin and a John Doe — if prosecutors didn’t correct the indictment language “defects.”
Basically, threatening to steal Greene’s family’s chances of seeking justice.
“It was clear they didn’t do their homework, Hardin told AP News, speaking about the prosecutors. “What we’re seeing is a whittling away of Ronnie’s case. It’s a debacle.”
While the obstruction of justice charges were dropped, there’s a possibility that the other officers’ charges could be. It all depends on the evidence prosecutors can find and present to the court that shows the officers used unlawful tactics that led to his death.
As News Onyx reported, 49-year-old Greene engaged in a high-speed car chase with Louisiana police in the early hours of May 10, 2019, that quickly escalated and led to his death.
Officers told the victim’s family that he died after his car crashed into a tree. But it was later discovered that the bumper was the only part of the vehicle (minorly) impacted. The front had no damage. Refusing to publish the bodycam footage, AP News took matters into its hands and relinquished the footage that showed the horrific death of Greene.
Following the car chase, Greene, who could talk and walk before his death, apologized to officers repeatedly. He continued to voice his fear of the aggressive law enforcement before him.
They screamed for him to show his hands and to put them behind his back but had tasers on him, and he continuously told them, “I’m scared.”
The officers escalated the situation by tasing, punching and dragging a defenseless Greene, who shouted, “I’m your brother! I’m scared! I’m scared!”
After getting him in handcuffs, one of the troopers with Greene’s blood on him had the audacity to state, “I hope this guy ain’t got f**king AIDS.”
By the time medical personnel arrived Greene was barely conscious and was declared dead minutes after arriving at the hospital.
On Dec. 15, 2022, the officers were slapped with multiple charges, from negligent homicide (the most serious charge) to malfeasance.
Since that incident, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a civil investigation into the practices or patterns of the Louisiana State Police and the State of Louisiana to
The investigation’s focus is on “whether the Louisiana State Police has a pattern or practice of using excessive force” or “whether the Louisiana State Police engages in racially discriminatory policing practices against Black people and other people of color.”
