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Louisiana governor criticizes police in deadly arrest of Black man

Louisiana Police Death Federal Probe
Posted at 5:27 PM, May 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-26 18:27:46-04

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has denounced the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene as "regrettable," criticizing the state troopers who repeatedly stunned, choked, and punched the Black motorist.

He also raised the specter that the officers who failed to intervene could also face discipline.

The Democratic governor's response to reporters Tuesday at the state Capitol came nearly a week after The Associated Press began publishing previously unreleased body camera footage of the arrest.

According to the Associated Press, troopers were shown converging on Greene’s car outside Monroe, Louisiana.

The AP reported that after a high-speed chase, troopers repeatedly hit Greene with stun guns, placing him in a chokehold, punching him in the head and dragging him by his ankle shackles.

After Greene's death, state police superintendent Col. Lamar Davis said last week that the department had limited the use of chokeholds and stun guns and installed new leadership in the Monroe area, the AP reported.

They also marked Edwards' most extensive comments yet to the controversy.

The case is the subject of a federal civil rights investigation.