Official announcements from the U.S. Justice Department or Louisiana State Police

Federal Prosecutors Decline Charges in Ronald Greene’s 2019 Death Amid FBI Probe Closure

Jan 15, 2025, 12:35 AM

Federal prosecutors have decided not to bring charges in the 2019 death of Ronald Greene, a Black motorist, following a lengthy FBI investigation. Greene died after being stunned, punched, and dragged by white Louisiana State Police troopers during a traffic stop near Monroe, Louisiana. The U.S. Justice Department informed Greene’s family of the decision, effectively closing the federal criminal case. Body-camera footage, released two years after the incident, showed Greene being repeatedly jolted with stun guns, placed in a chokehold, and restrained face down, which experts said likely restricted his breathing. Initially, state police attributed Greene’s death to a car crash, but an FBI-ordered reexamined autopsy debunked this claim, citing prone restraint, neck compression, physical struggle, and cocaine use as contributing factors. The federal investigation also examined allegations of a cover-up by Louisiana State Police officials, including suppressed video evidence and quashed recommendations for arrests. A separate civil rights investigation into excessive force by Louisiana State Police is ongoing. Greene’s family has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit, which remains pending. The state case against the officers has dwindled to charges against two, one of whom pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery. A key hurdle to federal charges was the death of Trooper Chris Hollingsworth, who was implicated in Greene’s death and died in a car crash in 2020.