Louisiana State Police say the top cop in the fatal arrest of Ronald Greene in 2019 initially failed to report body camera footage.
The statement comes after The Associated Press reported on Monday that Lt. John Clary — the highest ranking officer at the scene — initially denied the existence of the footage for about two years.
According to the AP, Clary told investigators that he had no footage of the incident, which was later proven false after his footage emerged last month. Documents obtained by the news outlet revealed that he gave false statements about Greene’s death.
Louisiana State Police Capt. Nick Manale said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday that personnel found three videos that hadn’t been submitted to investigators.
“Upon continued administrative review of the incident, personnel discovered three videos utilized in the internal affairs investigation were not part of the evidence submitted to District Attorney [John] Belton with the original case report,” Manale said.
“This evidence was used in the disciplinary procedures for Trooper York and previously had been submitted to federal investigators. It was again provided to federal investigators and to the District Attorney’s Office as a supplemental report,” he continued. “Internal reviews are currently ongoing to determine why those videos were not identified during the original criminal investigation.”
Louisiana authorities released full body camera footage from Greene’s arrest on Friday, after footage was obtained by the AP. He died after being restrained and beaten by law enforcement following a lengthy high-speed chase.
The footage sparked backlash, as police had previously offered varying accounts of how Greene died. His family has said they were told he died as a result of a car crash, and police later acknowledged a struggle with Greene.
According to AP, Clary’s footage showed Greene “lying on the ground, face down, handcuffed behind his back, leg shackles on his ankles, uttering the phrases, ‘I’m sorry’, or ‘I’m scared’ or ‘Yes sir’ or ‘Okay.’ “
Clary’s video further shows troopers ordering Greene to remain facedown while he was restrained, and Greene’s attempt to prop himself up.