AP
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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 in her son’s death.

“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.”

Union Parish District Attorney John Belton said in a statement that even though the grand jury indicted York for negligent homicide, the evidence “does not meet the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard necessary to secure a conviction at trial.”

Belton also dropped a malfeasance count against the recently retired York that stemmed from authorities’ still-unproven suspicion that Greene was pepper-sprayed even after he was handcuffed.

“It’s clear to me that the case should never have been indicted,” said York attorney Mike Small, adding he seeks full exoneration of his client at his October 28 trial. “I am confident that once the jury looks a those videos they’re not going to see any illegal touching of Ronald Greene by Kory York.”

Greene’s May 2019 death sparked national outrage and was among several beatings of Black men by Louisiana troopers that prompted the US 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 the Justice Department from pursuing charges: After years of investigating, federal and state authorities failed to pinpoint what, exactly, caused Greene’s death during the arrest.

State prosecutors were long skeptical the negligent homicide charge would hold up in the face of autopsy reports that cited “complications of cocaine use” among contributing factors to Greene’s death. Others included troopers’ repeated use of a stun gun, “physical struggle, prone restraint, blunt-force injury and neck compression,” but the forensic pathologist in Arkansas who examined Greene declined to identify which factor or factors were most lethal.

The case has been shrouded in secrecy from its outset when state authorities told grieving relatives the 49-year-old died in a car crash at the end of a high-speed chase near Monroe — an account questioned immediately by an emergency room doctor who noted Greene’s bruised, battered body. Still, a coroner’s report listed Greene’s cause of death as a motor vehicle accident, a state police crash report omitted any mention of troopers using any force and 462 days passed before the state police even launched an internal investigation.

All the while, officials from then-Gov. John Bel Edwards on down refused to release the body camera video of Greene’s arrest. That all changed in 2021 when AP obtained and published the long-suppressed footage showing troopers swarming Greene even as he appeared to raise his hands, plead for mercy and wail, “I’m your brother! I’m scared!”

Troopers repeatedly jolted him with stun guns before he could even get out of the car, with one wrestling him to the ground, putting him in a chokehold and punching him in the face.

One trooper struck Greene in the head with a flashlight and was recorded bragging that he “beat the ever-living f— out of him.” That trooper, Chris Hollingsworth, was widely considered the most culpable of the half-dozen officers involved but died in a high-speed, single-vehicle crash in 2020 hours after he learned he would be fired.

York also played a prominent role in the arrest. He is seen on video pressing Greene’s body to the ground for several minutes and repeatedly ordering him to “shut up” and “lay on your f—— belly like I told you to!” Use-of-force experts say that type of prone restraint could have dangerously restricted Greene’s breathing, and the state police’s own force instructor described the troopers’ actions as “torture and murder.”

For years, Hardin has crisscrossed the country advocating for justice in her son’s death and has vowed to not even bury his ashes until she gets it.

Now she is questioning if that day will ever come.

“I hate that my son is one of countless others,” she said. “There’s a lot that could be fixed in Louisiana that will never be fixed because of choices like this.”

Baton Rouge’s Nancy Davis, center, speaks at microphones a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol, Friday, August 26, 2022, discussing the chain of events and potential legal action after a Baton Rouge hospital denied Davis, 36, an abortion for her fetus, which is developing without a skull. From left, background, are her fiance, Shedric Cole, and the well-known civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump.

An LSU historian is being sued for defamation by a Pennsylvania state legislator and seeks to have the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the lawmaker is trying to curtail his First Amendment rights.

James Gregory, director of LSU’s William A. Brookshire Military Museum and an adjunct instructor of military history, is being sued by Republican Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano for defamation after Gregory criticized Mastriano’s academic research and raised concerns about its integrity. 

Mastriano sued Gregory and nearly two dozen other defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma in May, but the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, filed a motion Thursday to dismiss the lawsuit. The free speech organization, known for its defense of conservative speech on college campuses, is representing Gregory.

“The First Amendment means all Americans have the right to criticize public officials, no matter how angry that criticism makes them,” Greg Greubel, a FIRE attorney, said in a news release. “Politicians should be concerned about legislating for the people, not suing critics when their feelings get hurt.”

The lawsuit alleges Mastriano is “the victim of a multi-year racketeering and antitrust enterprise” that seeks to steal, use and “debunk his work” that is worth at least $10 million in “tourism-related events, validated museum artifacts, book, media, television and movie deals.”

Mastriano is a far-right Republican and retired military officer who was the GOP’s nominee for Pennsylvania governor in 2022. He lost to Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro. Though Gregory first raised concerns before his bid for governor, Mastriano said it was during the campaign that Gregory’s allegations began to gain traction in the news, including some national outlets. 

In the lawsuit, Mastriano alleges a conspiracy to try to “steal” his Ph. D. in U.S. military history and other professional opportunities. 

“The reality is this: One, I lived in Oklahoma and now I live [in Louisiana], I have no stake in Pennsylvania politics,” Gregory said in an interview. “Two, I’m a registered Independent and I vote Republican. Three, my first report predates his political aspirations.” 

The dispute is over the two men’s research into U.S. Army Sgt. Alvin York, a Medal of Honor recipient who was among the most decorated soldiers of World War I. Gregory said he once referenced Mastriano’s work, as he was an established scholar on York, but began noticing problems with his research. 

To date, Gregory has flagged 213 examples of what he believes are “academic fraud.” The instances range from quotes in Mastriano’s paper with no citation to complete fabrications, Gregory said. 

For example, Gregory said he found a photo in Mastriano’s book that included a caption that had been cut from another photo from the same time period, giving the impression the photo depicted something different than what it actually did. 

“From day one, it’s been nothing but academic for me,” Gregory said. “Academically speaking, this is not good. This person should not be publishing and should not be teaching if they’re capable of such blatant cases of academic fraud.” 

Gregory believes Mastriano’s lawsuit is intended to cause fear and chill academic speech. 

“It was like Mastriano saying, ‘Shut up or shell out,’” Gregory said. “This is not how academic discourse is done.” 

In its motion to dismiss the case against Gregory, FIRE argues that criticizing the work of a fellow historian is not defamation and that the First Amendment protects his right to do so. 

FIRE said Oklahoma law allows quick dismissals of questionable litigation that targets free speech, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP), and holds the plaintiff responsible for paying the defendant’s legal fees.

“James’ plight is a perfect example of why robust anti-SLAPP protections are vital to expressive freedom,” Greubel said in a statement to the Oklahoma Voice. “Otherwise, the First Amendment is nothing more than a luxury for those who can afford to fight off an expensive lawsuit.”

Mastriano and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment from the Oklahoma Voice. 

Emma Murphy, reporter with the Oklahoma Voice, contributed to this report.