Police to pay £3.8m after video showed officers beating Black motorist to death

Louisiana's state police and a local sheriff's office have agreed to pay £3.8m ($4.85m) to settle a civil lawsuit brought by Tayla Greene, the daughter of Ronald Greene. The agreement, which is still subject to approval by the state's legislature, was reached during a mediation session, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks.

The lawsuit alleged that the 49-year-old's death was wrongful. Neither the state police nor the governor's office have commented publicly on the settlement. The case has been a flashpoint for scrutiny of policing practices in the state for the past five years.

A brutal arrest caught on camera

For two years, the official story from Louisiana State Police was that Ronald Greene died from injuries sustained in a car crash following a high-speed chase on 10 May, 2019. That narrative collapsed when the Associated Press published harrowing body-camera footage in 2021.

The video showed troopers swarming Mr Greene's car before he could even get out. He can be heard raising his hands and pleading with the officers, wailing: "I'm your brother! I'm scared! I'm scared!"

Despite his pleas for mercy, troopers repeatedly shocked Mr Greene with stun guns. The footage shows one officer wrestling him to the ground, putting him in a chokehold and punching him in the face, while another insults him as a "stupid motherfucker".

After he was shackled, Mr Greene was left face down on the ground for an extended period, a position that experts say could have dangerously restricted his breathing. He was also reportedly dragged by his ankle shackles.

The official story unravels

The video evidence directly contradicted the initial police claims. The story had already begun to unravel before the footage was made public, however. Photos of Mr Greene's body on a hospital gurney showed his face was bruised and battered.

A hospital report also noted that he had stun gun prongs in his back. An emergency room doctor who examined him at the time questioned the troopers' account, writing in his notes that the explanation of a car crash "does not add up", especially given the minor damage to Mr Greene's vehicle.

The long road to accountability

Despite the graphic evidence, the path to justice has been fraught. Federal prosecutors announced in January 2025 that they would not be pursuing criminal charges against the officers involved. A state grand jury had previously indicted five white officers in late 2022 on charges ranging from negligent homicide to malfeasance. The indicted officers were troopers Dakota DeMoss, Kory York, John Clary, Gage Hollingsworth, and sheriff's deputy Chris Harpin.

However, the case eventually resulted in only misdemeanor battery charges against Trooper York and Deputy Harpin. Both pleaded no contest. One of the other indicted troopers, Gage Hollingsworth, died in a single-car wreck in 2020 just hours after being told he would be fired over his role in Mr Greene's death, the AP has previously reported.

A wider pattern of misconduct

The Ronald Greene case prompted the US Department of Justice to launch a broader "pattern-or-practice" investigation into the Louisiana State Police in 2022. The probe was initiated after reports revealed Greene's death was one of several cases where troopers were accused of concealing evidence of beatings and blocking misconduct investigations.

In January 2025, the DOJ released findings concluding the agency had a pattern of using excessive force and racially discriminatory policing. However, in a controversial move, the DOJ retracted those findings just four months later in May 2025, stating its initial report had relied on "flawed methodologies and incomplete data".

This settlement marks the end of the civil case, bringing a measure of financial resolution to the family of Ronald Greene. It closes a chapter in a tragic story that exposed deep-seated issues within Louisiana law enforcement, even as full criminal accountability for his death remained elusive.