One of the Louisiana state troopers who was charged in connection with the brutal death of Ronald Greene is back on the job.
Lt. John Clary, 59, was charged with obstruction of justice and malfeasance in office after allegations surfaced that he purposely withheld bodycam footage that showed the graphic arrest of Greene in 2019. State police spokesman Capt. Nick Manale released a statement that Clary will return to active duty “effective this week.”
Greene died in Union Parish, Louisiana, after a confrontation with police that followed what police reported was a high-speed chase and a car crash.
During the encounter, troopers beat him so badly that his body went limp. Bodycam footage that was leaked to The Associated Press in 2021 revealed Greene was bashed in the head with a flashlight, punched, shocked with a Taser, and then shackled by the ankles before being dragged by the troopers at the scene. That video also shows troopers forcing Greene to the ground, and leaving him face down for more than nine minutes.
That was the very video prosecutors claimed Clary withheld.
Although Louisiana State Police reported that the crash is what caused Greene’s death, bodycam and dashcam videos show Greene being pulled from his vehicle before being shocked with the stun guns and wrestled to the ground. Police claimed Greene was taken into custody after “resisting arrest and a struggle with troopers.”
Audio from one trooper’s body camera even recorded his telephone exchange after Greene was beaten, in which the Louisiana Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth said, “I beat the ever-living f*** out of him, choked him and everything else trying to get him under control.”
Five troopers faced state charges, including Trooper Kory York, who was charged with negligent homicide for Greene’s death. Use-of-force experts have said that the maneuvers York used to restrain Greene impacted his breathing and likely led to his…
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