In 2019, five Louisiana state troopers were caught on camera tasing, beating, and dragging Black motorist Ronald Greene, who officers claimed died in a car crash after fleeing from them, omitting the fact that they violently attacked him while he was shackled from head to toe. In June, all five officers were charged in Greene’s death, but so far, only one has been convicted — if you can even call it that.
Source: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/POOL/AFP / Getty
According to the Associated Press, now-former Officer Kory York, who retired from the State Troopers in August, pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges, allowing him to avoid any jail time at all — as if he wasn’t partly responsible for an unarmed Black man’s violent death.
From AP:
Kory York had faced the most serious charges of five officers indicted in the case two years ago after body-camera video captured him dragging Greene by his ankle shackles and forcing him to lie cuffed and facedown before he stopped breathing.
But instead of the original felony charges of negligent homicide and malfeasance, York pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery in exchange for a year of probation and an agreement to testify against the lone officer still facing trial.
Greene’s family complained that they were misled regarding the details of Kory’s plea deal and weren’t afforded the opportunity to protest it. They also argued that the cop with the most serious charges against him should stand trial.
“My family is a victim and we should have more of a say,” Greene’s mother, Mona Hardin, said in court. “This shouldn’t end today! It’s wrong! It’s unfair!”
Hardin had “refused to sign off on the last-minute deal that prosecutors pushed amid fears York would be acquitted in a conservative corner of the state,” AP reported, but what point is there of declining to risk trial if all Kory was going to get after the deal was a year of probation?
By pleading no contest, York essentially pleaded guilty without pleading guilty, and in doing so, he ensured that his guilty plea couldn’t be used against him in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Greene’s family.
York also gets to hold on to his nearly $83,000-a-year pension that he gets after retiring. In fact, York’s “conviction” is such a non-conviction that even his attorney is out here bragging about how great his client made out.
“This is clearly a victory for Kory York,” attorney Mike Small said. “It’s not an admission of guilt.”
This is why we say, “NWA was right.” Holding cops accountable for their brutal and deadly treatment of Black people remains an uphill battle, one where we lose even when we win.
