Prosecutors in Louisiana have quietly dismissed charges against state police officers who struck a black motorist and hoisted him off his feet by his braids before bragging in text messages that the “whoopin” would give the man “nightmares for a long time.”
The violent arrest of Antonio Harris in 2020 was part of a series of assaults on Black men that were captured on body camera and prompted an extensive U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the use of force by Louisiana State Police. It happened about a year after Ronald Greene’s fatal 2019 arrest in northern Louisiana, a beating that also resulted in state charges.
“The system is rigged against people like Antonio,” said Harris’ attorney, Michael T. Sterling, who first heard about the firings Friday from The Associated Press, which confirmed them in an interview with the district attorney. “It was clear that these officers beat Antonio Harris senselessly and brutally and lied about it in reports. It’s hard to understand what’s going on here.”
Harris’ arrest, which followed a high-speed chase that ended next to a cornfield in rural Franklin Parish, was called “inexcusable” by state police, who determined officers used “excessive and unjustifiable force” in kneeing, hitting and punching the man. he had surrendered.
“They kept saying, ‘Stop resisting,’ but I never resisted,” Harris told investigators. “As soon as they got to me, one of them kneed me in the face. One of them pinched my eyes.”
An internal investigation found that troopers filed “completely untrue” reports alleging that Harris continued to try to flee, refused to obey orders and fought with troopers before bombarding him with what Trooper Jacob Brown called “tactical attacks.”
The troopers later exchanged 14 text messages, peppered with “lol” and “haha” responses, mocking Harris, who was spitting blood and suffering from sore ribs and stomach pain for days after the arrest.
“He will definitely be sore tomorrow,” Brown wrote in one of the texts. “It warms my heart knowing we can teach that young man.”
After initially vowing to bring the troopers to justice, District Attorney Penny Douciere dismissed felony charges against Brown and Trooper Dakota DeMoss in November, weeks after a federal jury in Monroe acquitted Brown of a civil rights charge for the beating yet another black motorist whom he had hit. 18 times with a flashlight. The firings also came about two weeks after prosecutors in a nearby parish dropped charges against another soldier accused of withholding graphic body camera footage of Greene’s arrest.
Douciere did not explain why she dropped the charges, but said Friday that she also plans to dismiss the prosecution of George “Kam” Harper, the third white trooper charged in Harris’ arrest.
Lawyers for the troops did not respond to emails seeking comment. State police fired DeMoss and Harper, while Brown resigned. They were originally arrested in February 2021 on misdemeanor charges in office, but Douciere decided to charge them with misdemeanors instead.
The chase began after Brown pulled Harris over for a minor traffic violation and discovered he had a suspended driver’s license and outstanding warrants for his arrest.
Harris sped away, leading troopers on a 29-mile chase, reaching speeds of 150 miles per hour before it was stopped with the help of a flat tire. Although Harris had already surrendered, DeMoss, the first arriving soldier, “did a knee strike” and struck him in the face with an open hand before turning off his body-worn camera, court records show.
Harper, meanwhile, hit Harris in the head several times with a fist “enhanced” by a flashlight and threatened to “punish” Harris, while Brown pulled the man’s hair, an internal investigation concluded. DeMoss is later seen in the footage lifting Harris to his feet by his braids.
Investigators determined that Brown never disclosed to prosecutors that body-worn camera footage of the arrest existed.
Harris’ attorney has long said he hoped the Justice Department would file civil rights charges, but that did not happen after a federal grand jury heard evidence in the case.
The Justice Department still has not said whether it will file charges in Greene’s death on a rural road outside Monroe, although federal authorities continue to investigate an attempt to cover up his death.