Ronald Greene's death in 2019 was not caused by injuries sustained in a vehicle accident, according to a second autopsy.
The Louisiana State Police withheld vital information from the coroner, according to a new forensic assessment of the case requested by the FBI. Greene's death has since been connected to a number of factors, none of which are related to the police's initial explanation of a vehicle accident.
Greene's shattered breastbone and burst aorta were not caused by faulty airbag deployment, according to the assessment. Instead, an unnamed source involved with the investigation said that CPR attempts were most likely to blame for the injuries.
New autopsy rejects crash theory from Louisiana police
Greene's mother, Mona Hardin said that she hopes the new report sheds fresh light on the case. According to federal prosecutors, a civil rights investigation into the beatings of other Black motorists is approaching conclusion. The additional information may increase the likelihood of charges being filed against the cops involved, Newsweek reported.
The rare second look at what killed Greene verified what his family believed the instant they saw his bruised and beaten body and his car, which had only little damage: his death was not caused by a small collision at the conclusion of a high-speed chase.
The FBI received a new forensic examination this week in light of the long-buried body camera footage, vehicle black box data, and other items the state police concealed from Greene's initial autopsy.
It was unclear if the fresh autopsy would compel the Union Parish coroner to alter Greene's death from accidental to homicide, affecting the charges that state and federal prosecutors may pursue.
According to Rafael Goyeneche, a former prosecutor who now leads the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a New Orleans-based monitoring group, the new cause of death makes it much more likely that prosecutors will pursue substantial charges.
The family hopes the case will have a fresh investigation
A request for comment from the Louisiana State Police was not immediately returned. A representative for the US Justice Agency declined to comment on the probe, but said that if the evidence exposes legal infractions, the department will "take all appropriate action."
Green was killed on May 10, 2019, after he refused to stop for a traffic violation and led troopers on a nighttime pursuit through northern Louisiana, reaching speeds of 115 mph (185 km/h), before collapsing on a desolate roadside near Monroe. Greene's family was told by state police that he died after crashing with a tree, which the Union Parish coroner agreed to put in an official report, which characterizes Greene's death as a motor vehicle accident with no mention of a conflict with troopers.
A news outlet obtained and published the troopers' body camera video this spring after officials refused to release it for more than two years. Per NBC News, the video shows white troopers approaching Greene before he can even get out of his car, repeatedly stunning and punching him as he appears to surrender and wails, "I'm your brother!" I'm scared! I'm scared! "
Later, a soldier can be seen pulling the heavyset Greene by his ankle shackles and leaving him prone and face down in the soil for more than nine minutes before becoming limp.
The new autopsy report comes as federal prosecutors near the end of a two-year civil rights investigation into Greene's death, which has subsequently expanded to include the beatings of numerous other Black motorists, as well as whether top troopers obstructed justice to protect troopers from prosecution.
Per USA Today, it was unclear if the fresh autopsy would compel the Union Parish coroner to alter Greene's death from accidental to homicide, affecting the charges that state and federal prosecutors may pursue.
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