Here’s what we know about Ronald Greene’s death in Louisiana

At the time of his death, Greene had recently gone into remission after battling cancer for two years, according to Lee Merritt, one of three attorneys representing the Greene family.

Greene was traveling to Florida from Louisiana to reunite with his wife on the night of his death, Merritt said in October.

While there are conflicting accounts around the circumstances of Greene’s death, it is known the LSP did not specify in their initial report why they were trying to pull Greene over.

It’s also known that LSP did not mention troopers using force or arresting Greene in their crash report.

What does the video show?

Video obtained by the Associated Press shows Greene apologizing to officers and telling them he was scared before being tased, dragged and kicked.

In the video, an officer approaches Greene’s vehicle with a weapon drawn and says, “Let me see your f**king hands m*therf**ker.”

Video released by the Associated Press shows Louisiana State Patrol officers beating Ronald Greene on May 10, 2019.

Greene’s car door is opened and a Taser is heard going off. Greene can be heard saying, “OK, OK. I’m sorry. I’m scared. Officer, I’m scared, I’m your brother, I’m scared.”

Another video clip, obtained by the AP, shows officers forcing Greene onto the ground. An officer says, “Taser, Taser,” and Greene can be heard screaming.

After being tased, Greene can be heard moaning while still on the ground and being put in handcuffs by one officer, while another officer kicks him several times. An officer can be heard saying, “I’ve got blood all over me, I hope this guy ain’t got f**king AIDS,” as Greene continues to moan.

AP reports that Greene was left lying face down moaning for more than nine minutes while officers used sanitizer wipes to wash blood off their hands and faces. During this time, AP reports the officers did not give Greene medical attention. This is not in any of the video segments the AP has posted online.

What does the audio clip say?

In October 2020, AP also released an audio recording of one of the officers at the scene describing beating and choking Greene. AP identified the voice in the 27-second audio clip as Trooper Chris Hollingsworth. It is unknown who Hollingsworth was speaking to or whether the recording was edited.

“I beat the ever-living f*** out of him. Choked him and everything else trying to get him under control,” Hollingsworth said on the clip. “We finally got him in handcuffs when a third man got there. And the son of a b*tch was still fighting, they were still wrestling with him, trying to hold him down. He was spitting blood everywhere. Then all of a sudden he just went limp.”

Hollingsworth died in a single-vehicle car accident on September 21, 2020, according to the Ouachita Parish Coroner’s Office.

What does LSP say happened?

An LSP crash report on the incident said two troopers pursued a vehicle being driven by Greene following an attempt to pull over Greene for an unspecified traffic violation, and the pursuit ended when Greene crashed his vehicle.

Greene died after struggling with law enforcement following a pursuit that ended in a crash, according the initial complaint filed by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections Office of State Police.

The complaint regarding Greene’s death makes no mention of Greene’s cause of death being directly related to a car accident, saying “Greene was taken into custody after resisting arrest and a struggle with Troopers. A short time later Greene became unresponsive and was transported to Glenwood Medical Center by Pafford Medical Service. Greene died while en route to Glenwood Medical Center.”

The first mention of a struggle came in the complaint when the the Louisiana State Police Criminal Investigations Division began investigating Greene’s death. It does not mention officers using force.

In a statement, the LSP told CNN it did not release the video published by AP and that it was not authorized or obtained by official sources. LSP said it remained under direction by investigating agencies to not release any evidence or further information on the case.

Two officers involved in the incident were reprimanded for their actions that night, including not following procedures in relation to their body-worn cameras. One of those officers is on administrative leave related to a separate incident, and the other received a 50-hour suspension, according to an LSP spokesperson. A third officer died in a single-vehicle crash in September.

What does the family say happened?

Greene’s family filed a federal wrongful death suit filed on May 6, 2020.

The lawsuit names seven defendants, including Hollingsworth, and three others, identified as John Doe Corporation 1-3. It alleges Greene was “brutalized by Louisiana State Police and Union Parish Deputy Officers which caused his death.”

The lawsuit claims that following the pursuit and crash, Greene was uninjured and able to walk.

A photo of the car Greene was driving shows no damage to the front end, despite initial reports from law enforcement saying Green died from injuries suffered in a car crash.

Police told Greene’s family he had died in a car accident, with one officer telling Greene’s mother he had been immediately killed after hitting a tree, the lawsuit alleges.

Greene’s mother told CNN two investigative officers told the family shortly after the incident that Greene crashed into a tree during a pursuit but they would not tell her why law enforcement was chasing him. Greene’s mother says she tried to get clarification from law enforcement for months but got no response.

The lawsuit said that an initial report from Glenwood Medical Center listed the principle cause of Greene’s death as cardiac arrest. He was also diagnosed with an “unspecified injury of head,” according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, an emergency room physician at Glenwood Medical Center, said that the explanation of Greene’s injuries given by law enforcement didn’t “add up.”

“Upon obtaining more history from different law enforcement personnel (sic), history seems to be disjointed and does not add up. Different versions are present,” Dr. Omokhodion Omokhuale said as quoted in the lawsuit. “Family states they were told by law enforcement that patient died on impact with (tree) immediately after motor vehicle accident, but law enforcement state to me that patient for out of the car and was running and involved in a fight and struggle where them where he was tased 3 times.”

A photo of the car Greene was driving shows no damage to the front end, despite initial reports from law enforcement saying Green died from injuries suffered in a car crash.

An attorney for the Greene family told CNN that case is stayed pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.