Louisiana Police Agree to $4.85 Million Ronald Greene Settlement

Louisiana State Police and a local sheriff’s office have agreed to pay $4.85 million to the daughter of Ronald Greene, a Black motorist who died in 2019 after a traffic stop that included the use of a stun gun and physical force, according to details of a mediated settlement reached Tuesday evening.

The agreement resolves a civil wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Greene’s daughter, Tayla Greene. Ronald Greene was 49.

Greene died after a high-speed chase that began over a traffic violation, officials previously said. Body-camera footage released in 2021 showed troopers repeatedly using a stun gun, striking Greene and dragging him during the arrest.

State police initially attributed Greene’s death to a crash. But photos showing bruising on Greene’s body, a hospital report that noted stun gun prongs, and questions raised by an emergency room doctor challenged that account, according to previously disclosed records described in the case.

Criminal case and discipline tied to the arrest

Federal prosecutors did not pursue criminal charges, according to case summaries. In late 2022, a state grand jury indicted four state troopers and one sheriff’s deputy on charges that ranged from negligent homicide to malfeasance.

The case later narrowed to misdemeanor battery charges against two officers, Kory York and Chris Harpin, according to court records cited in prior reporting. Both pleaded no contest.

Federal civil rights inquiry into state policing

The U.S. Justice Department later opened a civil rights investigation into the Louisiana State Police. That investigation concluded that troopers had used excessive force, according to officials’ findings referenced in the case history.

The mediated settlement ends the civil lawsuit but does not by itself resolve any broader scrutiny of the agency’s practices. Further updates are expected as officials and attorneys finalize and disclose details of the agreement.