Charges stick against state trooper indicted in death of Ronald Greene

By Wesley Muller
Contributing Writer

(lailluminator.com) — One of the white Louisiana state troopers accused in the 2019 fatal beating of Black motorist Ronald Greene still faces criminal charges after an appeals court denied his request to void them last week.

The Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal ruling was field on January 31, against former Trooper Kory York, denying his request for a review of the trial court’s denial of his motion to quash the indictment. York faces one count of negligent homicide and 10 counts of malfeasance in office related to efforts to conceal troopers’ involvement in Greene’s death.
Greene died May 10, 2019, following a vehicle pursuit outside of Monroe. Police body camera footage of the incident shows a group of officers beating, choking, tasing and dragging Greene before leaving him shackled in a prone position until he died. State Police initially told Greene’s family that he died from injuries sustained when he crashed into a small tree until evidence later surfaced in a lawsuit that contradicted the troopers’ version of events.

Last year, York’s attorney Michael Small asked a Union Parish judge to set aside the indictment, arguing it was based on statements York made to internal affairs investigators that state law doesn’t allow to be used against an officer in a criminal proceeding. Small could not be reached for comment last Tuesday, and the appeals court order did not include the panel’s reasoning for denying Small’s argument.

York and one other officer, Union Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Harpin, are the only defendants remaining in the case that began with five other state troopers indicted. Harpin is charged with three counts of malfeasance.

Harpin and state troopers involved in the incident faced zero accountability for more than two years until body camera footage of Greene’s apprehension was leaked to The Associated Press.

It took an additional year of public pressure, internal investigations and legislative hearings before District Attorney John Belton, who represents Union and Lincoln parishes, brought the case to a grand jury in November 2022. Belton said he waited until federal authorities shared their findings from a civil rights investigation that did not result in federal charges.

In December 2022, Belton’s grand jury returned indictments against State Police Capt. John Peters, Lt. John Clary, Troopers Dakota DeMoss and York, and Harpin. Since then, Union Parish Judge Thomas Rogers has agreed with some defendants’ arguments that have chipped away at the charges.

In July 2023, Rogers dismissed the obstructing justice indictments against DeMoss and Peters, excusing both troopers entirely from the case. After that, Belton struck a deal to not prosecute Clary in exchange for his cooperation, according to The Times-Picayune. Clary was accused of lying about the existence of his body-camera footage.

York’s arraignment is set for Feb. 22 in the Third Judicial District Court.

This article originally published in the February 12, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.