UNION PARISH, La. (WAFB) – Documents obtained by WAFB I-TEAM show prosecutors wanted Ronald Greene’s family to sign a plea deal two weeks ago for a Louisiana state trooper charged in his death. They refused.

This morning, retired police officer Kory York pleaded no contest to dramatically reduced charges in a case involving Ronald Greene, a Black motorist who was struck in northern Louisiana in May 2019.

“We are being deceived, harassed and this is a condoned murder,” Mona Hardin, Ronald Greene’s mother, told the WAFB I-TEAM.

York was initially charged with negligent homicide and malfeasance in office. In September, prosecutors dropped the negligent homicide charge, the most serious charge York faced.

A month before that happened, the WAFB I-TEAM exposed that York was allowed to retire from the Louisiana State Police despite serious charges pending against him.

The Louisiana State Police Retirement System confirmed to WAFB that York retired with 27.10 years of creditable service and receives a monthly benefit of $6,982.36. The plea deal offered to York will allow him to avoid any prison time as he rakes in about $7,000 a month.

Greene died in May 2019 when officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop and Greene fled. He crashed his car after the chase and when the cops caught up with him he was alive and apologetic. Body camera footage leaked to the media months later showed Greene being brutally beaten while pleading for his life. York was filmed on body cameras dragging Greene by his ankle shackles and forcing him to lie on the ground.

Documents obtained by WAFB I-TEAM reveal that prosecutors dramatically reduced the charges against York by charging him with eight counts of assault. It’s a document that Greene’s mother, Mona Hardin, said she refused to sign.

“Why would we sign that?” Hardin told WAFB-TV. “It is a tolerated murder.”

York’s statement comes with the following sentence:

1. A parish jail sentence of up to six months, suspended, with active and supervised probation.
2. A fine and legal costs.
3. A special condition of 160 hours of community service.

“The lies and complicit cover-up continue,” Hardin said. “The dots have always been connected… the sheer audacity of these state-paid officials operating seamlessly with each other to correlate killer cops getting off the hook and my son Ronald Greene being kicked to the curb like he was “they would have run over.”

A no-contest plea carries the same weight as a guilty plea in the eyes of the court, but legal experts say it cannot be used to enhance a civil case. Sources confirmed to the WAFB I-TEAM that some of those summoned for trial began receiving notices last week that they did not need to appear as a plea deal may have been reached.

Of the five indictments that arose following the death of Ronald Greene, three have been dismissed. Charges remain against Kory York and Union Parish Representative Chris Harpin. In court, the Greene family asked for a trial, according to Hardin’s legal team.

Calls to District Attorney John Belton and Special Prosecutor Hugo Holland were not returned last week as details of this statement began to emerge. We also left messages for Kory York’s attorney, Michael Small.

Outside the courthouse on Monday, Belton told the Advocate that he sympathized with the family. Small also commented and said he believed they would have prevailed if this case had gone to trial.

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