Forced Release of Bodycam shows White Louisiana Troopers Assault a Black Man in His Driveway After a Traffic Stop. 1 Cop Struck Him 18X w/Flashlight. Despite Video Cops Took 536 Days to Investigate

From [HERE] and [HERE] Graphic body camera video kept secret for more than two years shows a Louisiana State Police trooper pummeling a Black motorist 18 times with a flashlight — an attack the trooper defended as “pain compliance.” 

“I’m not resisting! I’m not resisting!” Aaron Larry Bowman can be heard screaming between blows on the footage obtained by The Associated Press. The May 2019 beating following a traffic stop left him with a broken jaw, three broken ribs, a broken wrist and a gash to his head that required six staples to close.

State police did not respond to a request for comment from The Post late Wednesday. But the agency told the AP that Brown, the trooper who is shown on camera beating Bowman, “intentionally mislabeled” his body-camera video and did not properly report his use of force against Bowman. The agency added that Brown “engaged in excessive and unjustifiable actions.”

Bowman’s encounter near his Monroe home came less than three weeks after troopers from the same embattled agency punched, stunned and dragged another Black motorist, Ronald Greene,before he died in police custody on a rural roadside in northeast Louisiana. Video of Greene’s death similarly remained under wraps before AP obtained and published it earlier this year.

Federal prosecutors are examining both cases in a widening investigation into police brutality and potential cover-ups involving both troopers and state police brass. 

State police didn’t investigate the attack on Bowman until 536 days after it occurred — even though it was captured on body camera — and only did so weeks after Bowman brought a civil lawsuit. 

According to police Bowman was stopped because he veered into another lane and then did not immediately pull over. However, because the cops have lied in their reports it is difficult to ascertain the veracity and credibility of the information.

According to the complaint:

On or about May 30, 2019, Bowman noticed a white truck, which appeared to be the police, behind him while on his way home to 1500 South 3rd Street, Monroe La.

Bowman proceeded home as he lived a few streets over from his original destination. Once he made it home, the deputies/officers pulled into his driveway behind him.

Deputy Donovan Ginn and other officers proceeded to ask Bowman questions, Bowman kept his hands in plain view where all officers could view them, as he is familiar with the process.

One of the officers opened his car door and begin questioning him as to whether he had anything on him. Bowman alleges that the officers were referring to drugs or weapons, and Bowman responded that he had none. Bowman asserts that the officers began to pull him out of his vehicle, while other officers begin to arrive on the scene.

Bowman asserts that he was dragged to the ground, face down and officers began to hit and kick him. Bowman asserts that at no time did he resist any of the officers, and the officers continued to beat him for a period of time.

Bowman sustained multiple lacerations; including, a cut to the top of his head, a fractured arm, and broken ribs amongst other ailments. Bowman does not recall an exact number of deputies/officers involved in the beating.

Bowman asserts that the published police report is fabricated, and aspects of Deputy Ginn’s narrative is untrue. Bowman asserts that he was not the aggressor but was actually beaten terribly by Deputy Ginn and other officers. Sheriff Jay Russell is and was at the time of the incidents in command of Deputy Ginn and any/all of sheriff deputies on site and involved in the beating of Plaintiff causing him to sustain multiple lacerations; including, a cut to the top of his head, a fractured arm, and broken ribs amongst other ailments.

The state police released a statement Wednesday saying that Jacob Brown, the white trooper who struck Bowman, “engaged in excessive and unjustifiable actions,” failed to report the use of force to his supervisors and “intentionally mislabeled” his body camera video.

Brown, who resigned in March, has been involved in 23 use-of-force incidents since 2015, with 19 of them involving Black people, the AP reported, citing state police records. In Bowman’s beating, he has been charged with second-degree battery and malfeasance, according to the wire service. Brown’s attorney did not immediately respond to questions from The Post.

Officer Brown has been charged in two other incidents involving traffic stops of Black men, according to the Advocate. Following one of the incidents, which took place in May 2020, Brown reportedly joked with other troopers about beating the man, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Advocate.

“He gonna be sore tomorrow for sure,” Brown reportedly wrote in a group text message. “LMAO … warms my heart knowing we could educate [niggerize] that young man.”

Brown told investigators that hitting Bowman with a flashlight during the 2019 stop was a form of “pain compliance” so that Bowman would get into handcuffs. The Justice Department is now investigating the interaction, according to the AP.