Louisiana State Police troopers joked in a group text about beating a black man after a quick chase last year, saying the “whoopin” would give the man “nightmares for a long time,” according to new lawsuits.
“He will certainly be painful tomorrow,” Agent Jacob Brown, who was charged in the case and resigned Wednesday, texted three of his colleagues. “Warms my heart knowing we can raise that young man.”
The May arrest of 29-year-old Antonio Harris – who authorities say was beaten by troopers even after he “ immediately surrendered ” – bears a strong resemblance to the state police chase a year earlier, which ended in the still inexplicable death of another black. motorist, Ronald Greene.
Greene’s death was captured on a body-worn camera footage the agency refuses to release and remains the subject of a federal civil rights investigation.
Brown, 30, who is being charged in two other cases of excessive violenceHarris had been detained for a minor traffic violation on Interstate 20 in Richland Parish when Harris reentered his vehicle and fled, state police said.
The ensuing chase covered 29 miles, reaching speeds of 150mph and ended only after deputy sheriffs deployed a “ tire leak device ” that drove Harris into a ditch, court records show.
An internal investigation found that the responding soldiers, who are white, attacked Harris even though he had surrendered and “ laid face down (supine) on the ground and his arms removed from his body and his legs spread apart. ‘.
The first trooper, Dakota DeMoss, “delivered a knee attack” on Harris and hit him in the face with an open palm before knocking out his body-worn camera, court records show. DeMoss, 28, also initiated Greene’s arrest in May 2019, although state police have not provided details of his involvement.
Another trooper, George Harper, 26, punched Harris in the head several times with a fist that was “amplified” by a flashlight and threatened to “punish” Harris, while Brown tugged on the man’s hair.
“Harris has never resisted arrest,” the state police’s internal investigation concluded.
The troopers produced “completely untrue” reports stating that Harris opposed and continued to flee, the documents say, and tried to hide from investigators that there was bodycam video. They also exchanged 14 text messages laced with “lol” and “haha” responses boasting about hitting and mocking Harris.
“WILD he won’t run from a full grown bear again,” wrote Brown.
“I bet he won’t even enter LA again,” replied DeMoss, who previously scolded that Harris “was still digesting that ass.”
“He’s going to spread the word, damn sure,” Harper texted back.
DeMoss and Harper are also charged with Harris’s arrest and were placed on administrative leave after the internal investigation.
The filings reveal that DeMoss originally only received counseling for his role in Harris’ beating, admonished for turning his FM radio ‘extremely loud’ during the chase and switching stations’ to find the right song ‘.
A message to the attorney for the other troopers was not immediately returned. Brown’s attorney declined to comment.
Attempts to reach Harris, who is apparently from Mississippi, were not immediately successful.
The new lawsuits were first reported by Sound Off Louisiana, a local blog.
Harris’s arrest attracted new attention after a month-long internal investigation into incidents of violence in the northern part of the state – an investigation that began amid a growing investigation of the agency’s Troop F, which is patrolling the Monroe area. and the surrounding parishes.
Brown and another trooper, Randall Dickerson, 34, are also charged with a July 2019 drug arrest of another black man following a traffic stop on Interstate 20 in Ouachita Parish. Body-worn camera recorded Dickerson hitting the man five times “in the direction of the head and inflicting a knee attack on his body,” court records said.
Brown was also arrested in December on battery and felony charges in another incident involving a man who says authorities followed him to his home, dragged him out of his car, beat and kicked him, breaking his ribs.
Federal authorities are separately investigating soldiers of the same troop in Greene’s death. Troopers initially blamed the 49-year-old’s death on a crash at the end of a high-speed chase. But photos of Greene’s car showed little damage, and his family’s lawyer says bodycam footage shows troopers choking and hitting the man, repeatedly shocking him with tranquilizer guns, and dragging him face down on the sidewalk.