Photos fuel concerns over in-custody death of Black man in Louisiana
Graphic photos that surfaced online this week appear to show deep bruises on the face of a Black man who died following a police chase in Louisiana last year, raising new questions about whether his injuries were caused by the crash that ended the chase or an ensuing struggle with state troopers.
Separately, the family of 49-year-old Ronald Greene released images of the SUV involved in the May 2019 crash — showing that the vehicle appeared to have sustained only minor damage to its driver’s side.
The juxtaposition fueled calls for State Police to release body-camera footage of the chase and what the agency recently acknowledged was a “struggle” to take Greene into custody after he drove off the road in rural northern Louisiana near Monroe. State Police have declined to release the video or comment on the photos due to ongoing investigations of Greene’s death.
The two graphic photos — which appear to have been taken in a medical setting and show apparent bruises and cuts to Greene’s face and scalp — had previously been shared on social media by his family. Attorneys for Greene’s family say it was not immediately clear where the photos came from but that they were consistent with the injuries identified in an independent autopsy they commissioned.
Greene’s family filed a federal wrongfuldeath lawsuit in May alleging troopers “brutalized” Greene, used a stun gun on him three times and “left him beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest” before covering up his actual cause of death.