Louisiana State Police Leadership Investigated for Obstruction in Killing

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Louisiana State Police brass obstructed justice to protect the troopers seen on long-withheld body camera video punching, dragging and stunning Black motorist Ronald Greene during his fatal 2019 arrest, reports the Associated Press. Investigators are probing allegations that supervisors disregarded the video evidence, quashed a recommendation to arrest one of the troopers and recently pressed a state prosecutor not to bring any charges. It took 474 days for state police to launch an internal inquiry and officials from Gov. John Bel Edwards on down refused to release body-camera video for more than two years.

A key point under scrutiny in the federal investigation came just a day after the Associated Press published the video. Then the head of the state police, Col. Lamar Davis, and his chief of staff, Lt. Col. Doug Cain, made a hastily arranged attempt to dissuade state prosecutors from charging troopers in the Greene case. Of particular interest to federal investigators is why the state police failed to arrest Chris Hollingsworth, a veteran trooper who can be seen on the video stunning Greene and was later recorded boasting to a colleague. Instead, state police commanders in Monroe pressured their detectives to hold off. Also under scrutiny is why the state police failed to provide the body-camera video and even the most basic police reports for the official autopsy. At least six high-ranking state police officials have retired amid the growing fallout from the case.