Louisiana prosecutors drop most serious charge in deadly arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene

Louisiana prosecutors on Thursday dismissed the most serious remaining charge in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, dropping a negligent homicide count against a veteran trooper seen on body-camera video dragging the Black motorist by his ankle shackles and forcing him to lie face down before he stopped breathing.

The move coming just a month before Kory York’s trial marks only the latest withering of a case that began in 2022 with five officers indicted on a range of charges over the stunning, punching and pepper-spraying of Greene following a high-speed chase.

Now, only two still face charges, multiple felony malfeasance counts against York and another officer, all but eliminating the chance that anyone will face significant prison time in a death troopers initially blamed on a car crash.

“This whole thing started with a lie and a coverup and it’s going to end the same way,” a furious Mona Hardin told The Associated Press when told of the latest dropped charge.

“You have so much evidence yet no one wants to be the one pointing the finger against killer cops,” she said through tears. “They killed my son and no one gives a rat’s ass.”

Greene’s death sparked national outrage and was among several beatings of Black men by Louisiana troopers that prompted the U.S. Justice Department to open an ongoing civil rights investigation into the state police.

But the latest dismissal underscores a weakness in the case that has also discouraged federal prosecutors from pursuing charges: After years of investigating, authorities have failed to pinpoint what, exactly, caused Greene’s death during the arrest.

Autopsy reports cited a number of contributing factors, including troopers’ repeated use of a stun gun, physical struggle,