The Louisiana State Police has hired an outside consultant to conduct a “comprehensive top-to-bottom assessment” of the agency following the 2019 death of Ronald Greene while in the custody.
The consultant, The Bowman Group, which specializes in police reform and accountability, will assess “the policies, procedures, practices, culture, and training” of the state police through May 2023 at a cost of nearly $1.5 million, the state police said Friday in a statement posted on Facebook.
“I have vowed to regain the trust of our citizens, our law enforcement partners, our political leaders, and the men and women of our agency,” said Col. Lamar Davis, Louisiana State Police Superintendent. “Through this collaboration, we continue our commitment to the reform process as we work to build trust within our communities.”
Greene, a 49-year-old Black man, died during the overnight hours of May 10, 2019, after police said he resisted arrest and struggled with officers. His family has said they were told Greene died in a car crash after a police chase.
Video of the incident released two years later showed officers kicking, punching, and using a taser on Greene before he died in their custody.
A select committee of the Louisiana House of Representatives last month launched an investigation of the death after The Associated Press reported that Gov. John Bel Edwards kept quiet about the case for two years.
The Democratic governor denied the allegation, saying he welcomed “any and all legislative oversight” of Greene’s death. Edwards called the actions of the troopers involved “criminal” and said he was briefed in May 2019 that Greene died after a police chase and a “violent, lengthy struggle” with officers.
The state police statement said Bowman will assess everything from community policing and civilian complaints to use of force policies and recruitment.
No one has been charged in Greene’s death.
His family has filed a wrongful-death civil lawsuit against the state troopers involved in the incident, as well as their superiors — seeking damages for payment for all medical and funeral expenses.
The troopers have maintained that Greene’s death “was caused by crash-related blunt force chest trauma that resulted in a fractured sternum and ruptured aorta” and said they used force “for their own personal safety and for the safety of the public,” according to court documents.
Greene’s mother, Mona Hardin, told CNN last year that she believes the state police tried to cover up his death. She said police initially told her he died when he crashed into a tree.
An autopsy report from the Union Parish Coroner’s Office said lacerations of Greene’s head were “inconsistent with motor vehicle collision injury … (and) most consistent with multiple impact sites from a blunt object.”
