WATCH: MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross Overcome With Emotion as Elie Mystal Goes OFF on ‘Lynching’ of Ronald Greene
MSNBC host Tiffany Cross choked up as she tried to describe the body cam video of Ronald Greene’s in-custody death, and could be heard crying as panelist Elie Mystal went off on what he called the “lynching” of the man that was hidden from the public for two years.
Louisiana State Police released all body-worn camera footage related to the violent and fatal arrest of Ronald Greene in 2019, days after the Associated Press obtained portions of the video that revealed police had lied about Greene’s death.
In a riveting segment on Saturday morning’s edition of The Cross Connection, Ms. Cross played a portion of the video and choked up while describing the footage.
“Please be warned that these images are very difficult and painful to watch,” Cross said before playing some of the footage, then described what she was watching.
“You can see one of the officers kicking and stepping on the 49-year-old. A handcuffed Greene tries to roll over, but officers order him to remain face down on his stomach. We then see officers holding up his limp body,” Cross said, her voice cracking just then. “It took 9 minutes for Greene to receive medical help. That is after he was tased by white troopers, choked, and dragged by his shackled ankles.”
Cross introduced her panel, and with her voice still shaking, told Mystal “I have to start with you, because I am outraged and exhausted and angry. That video is practically unwatchable, and I think about that man’s family and his mother, and what they must be going through, and I just wonder.”
“This is clearly not a system that can be reformed. What can we do to stop this, because it feels like it’s just time to burn it down, you know?” Cross continued. “We ask please stop killing us, it hasn’t happened. At this point it’s a demand and it’s still not happening. What do we do?”
“First of all I just want to validate the emotion in your voice,” Mr. Mystal said. “You’re emotional because you just showed your viewers a lynching. That’s what they did to that man.”
“The video doesn’t even show the beating that that man took before he got out of the car,” Mystal continued, “A beating that we know happened because the cop admitted to it! That he just beat that man, that led to his death! That’s on the video!”
He went on to say that “This was a lynching that the Louisiana police covered up for 2 years, knowing full well what they did! What can we do about this lynching? Well as always, it starts with holding these people accountable for their actions. That sounds so simple and unsatisfying in a way, given what we all just saw, but it’s the first step, and it’s the first step that this country refuses to try! Hold these people accountable for what they admitted to doing on tape, and for what we saw them doing on video, as a first step.”
As Mystal spoke, Cross could be heard off-camera crying, and a quaver remained in her voice throughout the segment.
Watch above via MSNBC.
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