Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Ronald Greene may be a nameless/faceless individual to many of us, but to his family, he is someone who should be alive today if local police officers had treated him better. Greene died the night of May 10 2019 following a chase that started on Desiard Street, when a traffic stop was attempted that ended in Union Parish where Greene wrecked his vehicle where it turned out deadly. The incident was reported locally in the media as well as by The Monroe Dispatch. According to media reports, Greene had surrendered to officers apologizing for his actions, when a "struggle" somehow ensued with Greene being handcuffed. Louisiana State Police officers at the scene said that Greene "became unresponsive" after emergency responders arrived on the scene and died on the way to a hospital. The State Police initiated an investigation, turned over their findings to the local attorney general's office and was(surprised?) cleared of any wrongdoing, though the incident was referred to the Department of Justice. But to those who read or saw news reports, nothing else happened, as the incident like so many others were pushed to file 13. Ronald Greene's family wasn't about to let their relative become just another "victim" to a system that treats the less than privileged as undeserving of receiving fair and equal treatment, especially when a life is lost under controversial circumstances. The Greene family has hired attorneys who are asking tough questions that the Louisiana State Police appears not prepared to answer.

Even before a lawsuit was filed, there was strong sentiment among many in the community that the facts of Greene's death were "missing" some details. According to the attorneys, Greene's death should have been investigated by an independent law enforcement agency, not the LSP. The suit also said that Greene was tased at least three times, though LSP did not include that in their report. Even more troubling is that one of the LSP officers, Chris Hollingsworth, was placed on leave (a standard procedure) this past August 25, well over a year since Greene's death, without explaining why. Is there a cover up? The attorneys think so. One of the questions that needs to be answered is, why was Greene unresponsive by the time the EMTs arrived and died on the way to the hospital as the lawsuit states and why did the LSP say to Greene's family that he died in an auto accident and NOT on his way to the hospital, as the lawsuit states? All that the family wants is justice for a man's death that should not have happened.