The US will not press charges against police officers in the death of Ronald Greene

The Justice Department will not pursue criminal charges in the 2019 death of Ronald Greene, a black driver who was stopped and beaten by police in Louisiana, officials said Tuesday, ending a years-long federal criminal investigation.

It was the latest criminal investigation against the officers who punched and shocked Mr Greene, 49, who was being pursued by police for a traffic offense in May 2019.

The Justice Department “found insufficient evidence to support federal criminal charges against the surviving Louisiana police officers and officers involved in the incident or its aftermath,” a department spokesman said. The primary officer involved in the case, Chris Hollingsworth, who was placed on administrative leave in 2020, was killed in a car accident that year.

Dinelle Hardin, sister of Mr. Greene, said the Justice Department “failed to protect the citizens of Louisiana” with its decision not to press charges.

“I’m not surprised by the outcome,” Ms. Hardin said, adding that she felt “this was the only time we could have gotten some kind of change” when it came to the state police.

Mr. Greene’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court in 2020. It is still pending.

The US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced in January 2022 that there was an “open and ongoing criminal investigation”. A few months later, the Department of Justice began a civil investigation against the Louisiana State Police to assess whether its officers used excessive force or racially discriminatory policing. Federal investigators have not yet released their findings of the civil investigation.

Louisiana State Police on Tuesday declined to comment on any investigation.

Mr. Greene’s family was initially told he died from injuries sustained in the crash on May 10, 2019. The Union Parish Coroner ruled his death an accident due to cardiac arrest and did not mention a struggle with police.

But Mr Greene’s family later ordered a post-mortem which showed he had suffered injuries to his skull and face.

Two years after Mr. Greene’s death, body camera footage of the encounter in Union Parish, La., collected and published by the AP, showed officers pulling Mr. Greene from his SUV and wrestling him to the ground. They continued to beat him and shock him with a stun gun, while he repeated: “I’m sorry” and “I’m afraid”. At one point, an officer dragged Mr. Greene by the ankles while he was face down and handcuffed.

State criminal charges were eventually filed against five law enforcement officers in 2022.

Last year, Kory York, a Louisiana state trooper, pleaded no contest to eight counts of misdemeanor indictment and received a year’s probation. He initially faced charges of manslaughter and 10 counts of abuse of office in the death of Mr. Greene.

Three other officers involved in the episode had their charges dismissed, AP reported. Louisiana State Police said in October that it no longer employs any of the officers involved in the case.

In the latest state criminal case, Christopher Harpin, a deputy with the Union Parish Sheriff’s Office, was charged with three counts of abuse of office. It is still in progress.

John Belton, district attorney for Louisiana’s Third Judicial District, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Glenn Thrush and Jesus Jimenez contributed reporting.