A new twist has been added to the ongoing investigation of the DEATH of Ronald Greene at the hands of six Louisiana State Troopers and a Union Parish Sheriff’s deputy back on May 10, 2019.
Chris Hollingsworth, one of the six troopers involved Greene’s death, was involved in a one-vehicle accident at 2:30 a.m. Monday in Monroe and was flown to Ochsner-LSU Health Center in Shreveport where he was in critical condition in the center’s intensive care unit.
To date, Hollingsworth is the only one of the seven law enforcement officers to face any disciplinary action, having been placed on leave less than a month ago, on Aug. 25, more than 15 months following Greene’s death.
The Hollingsworth accident was worked by Monroe city police, who told LouisianaVoice the incident was still under investigation. After identifying myself by name (they asked, “What’s your name?”), I spoke to an officer who said the accident occurred on I-20 eastbound when Hollingsworth’s vehicle hit a guard rail. “He was flown to Ochsner in Shreveport, the officer said.
Only after having given me that much information did he think to ask, “Are you with the Troop (LSP Troop F)?”
“No, I’m a reporter,” I replied.
“I’m sorry. I can’t talk to you.” The line went dead.
The incident is under federal investigation and Greene’s family has filed a federal lawsuit after conflicting reports provided by LSP in an apparent attempt to conceal the details surrounding his death at the hands of police.
Among those discrepancies:
- Greene’s family was initially told by police that Greene had died after hitting a tree;
- A call for Emergency Medical Services concealed the face that lethal force had been used;
- The police report failed to indicate the use of force;
- Officers claimed that Greene was intoxicated before leaning that a toxicology exam found no alcohol or drugs in Greene’s system;
- Greene’s body was transported out of state for an autopsy, thereby denying the family’s right to have a representative observe the autopsy;
- An emergency room physician at Glenwood Hospital in West Monroe said, “Upon obtaining more history from different law enforcement, personnel, history seems to be disjointed and does not add up. Different versions are present…family states they were told by law enforcement that patient died on impact with tree immediately after motor vehicle accident, but law enforcement state(ed) to me that patient far out of the car and running and involved in a fight and struggle where…he was tased three times.”
Subsequent to his death, the family has released post mortem photos of Greene which show his injuries to be inconsistent with the cause of his death as described by police. Because of the graphic nature of those photos, it is the decision of LouisianaVoice not to post them here.
Of course, LSP is now hiding behind the existence of a federal investigation and a federal lawsuit as grounds for refusing to release information about the pursuit and take-down of Greene. But that still leaves unexplained, as national news organizations now begin to ask questions of their own, the question of why an LSP captain (John Peters) was involved in a pursuit, especially at midnight.
Also unexplained is why officers continued to beat and tase Greene even after he was handcuffed. A retired state trooper told LouisianaVoice that all training dictates that once a suspect is subdued, he is immediately placed in a patrol unit. Obviously, this was not done.
You may wish to keep tabs on this site for updates on the Greene investigation since Gannett/GateHouse Media’s Monroe News-Star, aka McNewspaper, will probably be too busy covering the Duck Dynasty clan to devote a lot of ink to real reporting.
Louisiana Voice 
I have never understood why the LSP investigates itself. There should always be an outside agency for impartiality appearance if nothing else. Greene appears to have been killed by accident, but could have been prevented, even if Greene was un-cooperative and belligerent.
I was pulled over by Hollingsworth about a year ago on I-20. Getting pulled over stunk, but I must admit he seemed like a decent guy. I guess he thought my excuse for speeding was valid enough to contact the DA’s office on my behalf. I paid the ticket but it didn’t go on my record after 6 months with a clean record. Like anything else, there’s 2 sides to every story and the truth lies in the middle.
Some suggested corrections in the bullet points(see below)face/factleaning/learningcheck ER doc’s quote. “far” should maybe be something else? I appreciate the story. The NAACP local president had asked me about doing some record requests, but it seems like you and other media are doing a good job of trying to make LSP accountable. James Greene’s family was initially told by police that Greene had died after hitting a tree;A call for Emergency Medical Services concealed the face that lethal force had been used; The police report failed to indicate the use of force; Officers claimed that Greene was intoxicated before leaning that a toxicology exam found no alcohol or drugs in Greene’s system; Greene’s body was transported out of state for an autopsy, thereby denying the family’s right to have a representative observe the autopsy; An emergency room physician at Glenwood Hospital in West Monroe said, “Upon obtaining more history from different law enforcement, personnel, history seems to be disjointed and does not add up. Different versions are present…family states they were told by law enforcement that patient died on impact with tree immediately after motor vehicle accident, but law enforcement state(ed) to me that patient far out of the car and running and involved in a fight and struggle where…he was tased three times.”
Dr. James Finney 8121 Oak View Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70814 225-252-0412 (cell) http://www.jamescfinney.us
“Far” was part of a direct quote. I can’t alter a direct quote. Perhaps the physician meant that Greene was “far” out of his vehicle, but I can’t assume that.