Louisiana police probing unit involved in Ronald Greene case for excessive force, racism- AP

[June 10, 2021]    (Reuters) - The Louisiana State Police unit involved in the deadly May 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene is under investigation over whether its officers are systematically targeting Black motorists for abuse, the Associated Press reported  on Wednesday.

The unit is being investigated by a secret internal panel that was set up in response to the death of Greene, 49, and three other cases of stopping Black men, AP reported, citing four people familiar with the panel's existence.

Louisiana State Police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The seven-member panel investigating the unit has begun to review thousands of bodycam videos from the past two years involving a dozen troopers, at least four of whom were involved in Greene's arrest, the report said. No troopers have been charged in Greene's arrest.

It added that investigators were looking for signs of excessive force, examining whether troopers showed racist tendencies and whether they used means to hide evidence.

Greene's death further fueled a national debate over police brutality, especially against Black men, after police bodycam video showed officers punching and dragging him. One officer shocked him with a stun gun.

Footage also showed Greene leading police on a high-speed chase, then crashing his car. An autopsy showed that he had alcohol and cocaine in his system and suffered multiple injuries from the crash as well as injuries from a physical struggle.

(Reporting by Derek Francis in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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