Ronald Greene

“It started with a lie—we were told Ronnie was killed in a car crash,” recalls Greene’s mother Mona Hardin. On May 10, 2019, Greene, age 49, was beaten to death by five Louisiana state troopers on the road north of Monroe, LA.

At every level, the whole state apparatus—from the state troopers to the governor to the feds—has done everything it could to cover up what troopers did to Ronald Greene. The case vividly shows how opening the police archives to public scrutiny is a necessary step to exposing the state’s crimes and an elementary act of self-defense for black people.

At first the cops falsely claimed he died on impact when his car ran into a tree at the end of a high-speed car crash. But photos of Greene’s bruised and battered face raised questions, as did a hospital report noting he had two stun gun prongs in his back and the fact that his SUV had only minor damage. The emergency room doctor questioned the troopers’ story, writing in his notes: ‘Does not add up.’“

It took years for the release of police video showing cops viciously beating Greene. It remained buried even after Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards personally viewed it. The AP finally obtained the bodycam footage through a leak. As AP reported, the footage shows Greene “being swarmed by troopers even as he appeared to raise his hands, plead for mercy and wail, ‘I’m your brother! I’m scared! I’m scared!’ Troopers repeatedly jolted Greene with stun guns before he could even get out of the car, with one of them wrestling him to the ground, putting him in a chokehold and punching him in the face. Another called him a ‘stupid motherf-----.’ They then ordered a shackled Greene to remain facedown on the ground, even as he struggled to prop himself up on his side.”

One trooper, Chris Hollingsworth, can be seen repeatedly striking Greene in the head with a flashlight and later boasting, ‘I beat the ever-living f--- out of him.“ The video also shows officer Chris Harpin, who reportedly pepper sprayed Greene, taunting the victim before he stopped breathing: “Yeah, yeah, that s–– hurts, doesn’t it?“ Another trooper, Kory York, tells Greene to “shut up” and “lay on your f------ belly like I told you to!” Greene was unarmed and offered no resistance.

The AP also unearthed an internal interview with Hollingsworth that even the feds claimed they weren’t aware of until AP broke the story. Other video footage from close-circuit cameras in the neighborhood came to light only because the owners turned it over directly to Greene’s family, bypassing the cops. Five years later, the feds claim they are “still investigating.”

Hollingsworth died in a high-speed, single-vehicle crash in 2020, hours after he learned he would be fired for his role in Greene’s arrest. “What we’re seeing is a whittling away of Ronnie’s case,” said Hardin. “It’s a debacle.” Charges were dropped against John Clary, the senior cop who oversaw the burying of the bodycam footage. The other two cops facing charges were allowed to plead no contest to misdemeanor battery and were placed on probation, over objections of the family who wanted them to face trial. In January 2025, federal prosecutors announced they would not bring charges.

Greene’s killing has been met with protests, including a large demonstration at the state capitol in 2021. There have also been anniversary protests in Farmerville, Louisiana, the parish seat. Mona Hardin has worked tirelessly for her son and other victims of police brutality, setting up the Ronald Allan Greene Foundation in his honor. In May 2026, the state agreed to pay $4.85 million to Greene’s daughter to settle a federal wrongful death lawsuit.

The AP found Greene’s was among at least a dozen cases over the past decade in which Louisiana state police ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct. In January 2025 the Department of Justice issued a report finding the Louisiana troopers engaged in a “pattern and practice” of excessive force, although under Trump the DOJ has rescinded those findings. Ultimately the legislative investigation into the role of Governor Bel Edwards in the coverup fizzled out. “No matter where you turn there’s nobody who can be trusted,” said Hardin. “I’m bothered more than anything that everyone can just continue on their merry way.” How many more cases like Greene’s are there out there that have been covered up? To find out, we need to open all the state trooper archives!