FARMERVILLE — The final law enforcement officer facing criminal charges in the 2019 death of death of motorist Ronald Greene pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor simple battery charge Wednesday, a day after federal prosecutors said they wouldn't bring charges in the case.

A civil lawsuit over Greene's death following a traffic stop is still pending.

Former Union Parish Deputy Chris Harpin had faced two counts of malfeasance in office after prosecutors alleged he pepper-sprayed Greene while he was handcuffed. In a statement Wednesday, District Attorney John Belton said his office's evidence did not meet the "beyond a reasonable doubt standard" necessary for a conviction.

He said state officials and lawyers for Greene's family agreed to the case was resolved.

"The state has consistently held the position that the federal government has the most resources and is most appropriately positioned to fairly investigate and to pursue the prosecution of any federal offenses in this case, including civil rights violations," Belton said. 

A no contest plea means Harpin does not admit guilt, but is willing to accept that the state has sufficient evidence against him in the simple battery case.

In Louisiana, the penalties for misdemeanor simple battery include a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment up to six months. 

Federal prosecutors told family members Tuesday they would not file criminal charges against the law officers who stunned, punched and dragged Greene on a roadside and amid allegations of an attempted cover-up by the Louisiana State Police.

The Associated Press reported the U.S. Justice Department informed Greene's family of the decision as officials were also preparing to release findings from a broader civil rights investigation that found a pattern of state troopers using excessive force.

That “pattern-or-practice” inquiry, launched in 2022, followed an AP investigation that found Greene’s arrest was among at least a dozen cases in which state troopers and their bosses ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct in the agency.

The body-camera footage, withheld by officials for two years but published by AP in 2021, showed troopers swarming Greene even as he appeared to raise his hands, plead for mercy and wail, “I’m your brother! I’m scared! I’m scared!” Troopers repeatedly jolted Greene with stun guns before he could even get out of the car, with one of them wrestling him to the ground, putting him in a chokehold and punching him in the face. Another called him a “stupid motherf-----.”

They then ordered a shackled Greene to remain face down on the ground, a prone restraint that experts said could have dangerously restricted Greene’s breathing.

State police initially blamed the 49-year-old’s death on a crash following a high-speed chase over a traffic violation. But that explanation was called into question by photos of Greene’s body on a gurney showing his bruised and battered face, a hospital report noting he had two stun gun prongs in his back and the fact that his SUV had only minor damage. Even the emergency room doctor questioned the troopers’ initial account of a crash, writing in his notes: “Does not add up.”

A reexamined autopsy ordered by the FBI ultimately debunked the crash narrative and listed “prone restraint” among other contributing factors in Greene’s death, including neck compression, physical struggle and cocaine use.

A federal indictment seemed imminent for several years, so much so that federal prosecutors asked the local district attorney to hold off on bringing state charges until the FBI inquiry ran its course. They later reversed course, and, in late 2022, a state grand jury indicted five officers on counts ranging from negligent homicide to malfeasance.

The state case withered away to charges against just two of those officers, one of whom dragged Greene by his ankle shackles and pleaded no contest last year to misdemeanor battery. Harpin's plea Wednesday concluded the state proceedings.

The federal investigation also included a lengthy focus on the state police brass suspected of obstructing justice by suppressing video evidence, quashing a detective’s recommendation to arrest a trooper and pressuring a state prosecutor.

Still pending is the federal wrongful death lawsuit Greene’s family filed four years ago seeking damages from the officers, who have denied wrongdoing. The civil case was long put on hold as the criminal proceedings played out. The recent no contest pleas in the criminal cases do not bolster the civil case.