Louisiana’s Republican-controlled state legislature has announced a far-reaching bipartisan inquiry into the in-custody death of Ronald Greene, a Black motorist who was killed following a violent arrest at the hands Louisiana state troopers in 2019.
The announcement follows revelations earlier this month that the Louisiana governor, John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, was informed within hours of Greene’s death that Greene, who was unarmed, had died during a “violent, lengthy struggle” but made little public comment on the incident for two years.
The inquiry, said the Louisiana house speaker, Clay Schexnayder, would examine the state’s response to the incident at “all levels”.
“These events have raised serious questions regarding who knew what and when,” Schexnayder said in a statement. “The actions taken that night and the cryptic decisions and statements made every step of the way since then have eroded public trust.”
Edwards has adamantly denied that he and his office were involved in any cover-up of the incident.
The governor was in the midst of a closely fought election campaign at the time of Greene’s death, and withheld detailed public comment until years later after the Associated Press publishing graphic body-camera footage of the incident.
The footage showed Greene, his faced bloodied, had been punched, shocked with a Taser, handcuffed and laid prone on the ground by a group of six Louisiana state troopers.
At a news conference last week, Edwards declared for the first time that the incident was an act of racism, as a US justice department investigation into Greene’s death remains pending.
Edwards has faced substantial criticism from the state’s Black caucus as well as civil rights campaigners for his handling of the incident.
On Thursday Edwards issued a statement welcoming the investigation.
“I am certain that any fair and impartial investigation will conclude that I made no attempt to impede or interfere with any investigation into Mr Greene’s death. Any allegation to the contrary is simply not true.”
The Louisiana Democratic party chair, Katie Bernhardt, also appeared to welcome the investigation but cautioned against “political games” in the process.
“The Greene family and countless others deserve justice. I hope this investigation prompts the much-needed changes in law enforcement offices across our state,” Bernhardt said in a statement.
“I urge our legislative leadership to make sure political games do not consume this investigation. My most fervent hope is that the Greene family find the justice and peace they so deserve, and Black Louisianians see the reform they need to begin to trust law enforcement in our state.”
Schexnayder said a new investigative committee would be made up of four Democrats and four Republicans and would begin public hearings in the coming weeks. It is likely that Edwards himself will be among the witnesses called for testimony. Lawmakers are also expected to request a range of documents, including text messages from Edwards that he has yet to release in response to a public records requested by news outlets, including the Associated Press.
In an interview with the Guardian last week, Greene’s mother, Mona Hardin, who has called for the governor’s resignation, expressed outrage at his response to the text message revelations.
“It’s a cowardly way for him to approach the murder of a man by his state troopers,” Hardin said. “He said the text message was standard procedure, but there was no follow-up on his end after the murder of a man? They carelessly and lightly really insisted this was ‘standard procedure’. But no one ever made any effort to be honest with me.”
.
