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 death.
Hollingsworth was the sixth trooper on the scene and was widely viewed as the most culpable of the state police responders at the scene of Greene’s apprehension. He died in a single-car crash in September 2020 within days after his agency informed him he would be fired for his role in Greene’s beating.
Even before the indictments against the troopers came down in 2022, Clary was never disciplined by state police. The agency claimed there wasn’t enough evidence to prove or disprove that he intentionally kept the video secret.
Prosecutors dropped charges against Clary earlier this year after he agreed to testify against York, a source told CNN. Two other former state troopers had their charges dismissed by a judge in July. So, only two of the initial five men who were indicted still face charges: York and Union Deputy Parish Chris Harpin, who was charged with malfeasance in office.
York’s trial starts next year.
Greene’s mother, Mona Hardin, told AP that she feels there’s a disgusting lack of accountability and justice in the case.
“It’s really like he never took the uniform off,” Hardin said. “These guys have been protected from the beginning. They know the brass have their back.”
Greene’s family has called for a federal civil rights investigation into Greene’s death, since it took more than three years for criminal charges to come down.
“We need the DOJ to come in here because we’re four-plus in. It took three-plus years just to get these indictments, you know, and we need it now,” Hardin said.
