WINNSBORO, La. (AP) – State prosecutors have charged three Louisiana State Police troopers accused of beating a Black motorist, hoisting him to his feet by his hair braids and bragging in text messages that the “whoopin'” would give him “nightmares for a long time.”
The misdemeanor simple battery charges in the 2020 arrest of Antonio Harris come amid mounting scrutiny of the state’s premier law enforcement agency over allegations of excessive force – particularly against Black people – and an institutional instinct to cover it up.
Jacob Brown, Dakota DeMoss and George “Kam” Harper, who are white, were seen on body-camera video piling onto Harris following a high-speed chase that ended next to a cornfield in rural Franklin Parish, kneeing, slapping and punching him even though he had surrendered face down with his arms and legs splayed.
The troopers’ attorneys declined to comment Thursday. A state police spokesperson did not immediately comment on the charges.
State police had arrested the troopers in February 2021 on felony charges of malfeasance in office, but local prosecutors elected not to bring that count last week when filing a bill of information in Franklin Parish. Misdemeanor simple battery in Louisiana carries up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.