An Account Of What Happened
On November 5, 1992, Malice Green died after an altercation with Detroit Police Officers. Within hours of the incident, Detroit's Mayor Coleman A. Young went on national television stating that Green had been "literally murdered by police." Stanley Knox, Detroit's Chief of Police and a crony of Young's, denied the officers a Police Board of Review and refused to hear their side of the story. Knox fired or suspended without pay, all 7 officers at the scene. Officers Larry Nevers, Walter Budzyn, and Robert Lessnau, and Sgt. Freddie Douglas were charged in the death. Ultimately, charges of willful neglect of duty against Sgt. Douglas were dropped, Officer Lessnau was acquitted of assault, and Officers Nevers and Budzyn were convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to long prison terms. The following account of what happened was written for the Macomb Daily, a Detroit area newspaper, some time after the convictions, by veteran Detroit Police Officer Larry Nevers:
November 5, 1992
Larry A. Nevers
The red four-door compact passed in front of us as we waited near the stop sign at 23rd and Warren. Was this the stolen Ford Tempo taken at gunpoint one night earlier? There were bullet holes in the front fender, and at first glance this looked like a prudent stop to me. I started out from the side street when the red four-door compact pulled abruptly to the curb. I eased in behind the red car and realized at once that this was not the stolen vehicle we were looking for. The plate did not match and, the car was a Mercury Topaz. At this point I should mention that the vehicle stopped in front of a KNOWN crack house in the precinct. That same abandoned building had been raided by our Narcotics Officers on two different occasions in the past.
Instantly, the rear door flew open and a black male bolted towards the rear of the dope house. I recognized Robert Knox immediately. I had arrested him at least twice before on separate felony charges. Walter Budzyn was with me that night; we had been partners for less than a month at the time. Walt took off after the fleeing Robert Knox.
Just then Teresa Pace, Robert Hollings, and Emanuel Brown emerged from the shadows of the crack house. After seventeen years and over 8,000 man hours in this neighborhood alone, I am very familiar with the felons in the area, and I recognized the three individuals walking toward me. As Walt ran past the trio, two other individuals got out of the Mercury Topaz and walked toward Pace, Hollings and Brown. Ralph Fletcher was one of the men in the Topaz, and I would come to find out later that the other man was Malice Green. It was common knowledge in the precinct that Fletcher squatted in this abandoned building, allowing people to come in to smoke crack and to have sex, but they had to pay him to get high. That money, public assistance money, and food stamps, was how Fletcher lived.
I asked the driver of the Topaz, Malice Green, to show me his operator's license. He mumbled something like it "was in his car" and walked to the passenger side of his vehicle. In the meantime, Walt returned with Robert Knox, the man he chased. Walt then walked over to Malice Green. I began a lighthearted conversation with the group.
I was standing in the street, inside of the open car door of my unmarked police vehicle. Just then, Hollings yelled out, "what's with your partner? He's in trouble, you'd better get over there!" I looked, and could no longer see Walt. I ran over to help. Malice Green and Walt were sprawled out across the front seat of the vehicle, and Walt was yelling at Green to open his hand. Walt told me Green had drugs in his hand. I tried to get Green to open his fist. As I tried, Green kicked me in the chest. I regained my balance and grabbed his clinched fist and tried to pry open his fingers. I was able to open one finger, and a rock of crack cocaine fell out of his hand.
I repeatedly ordered him to open his hand. When he refused to comply, I struck him across his knuckles with my flashlight. I struck him repeatedly on the knuckles and continued to order him to drop the drugs. Once again, he brought up his knees, I tried to get away from his feet, and lost my grip on his hand. At this point, I realized that this was going to be a difficult arrest. I became aware that the five junkies were still standing about twelve to fifteen feet away. I was worried about my back and ordered them to leave. All of them responded promptly.
Walt yelled "He's trying to get away, he's trying to get out of the driver's door!" Rushing around, I arrived in time to see the door open and Green's upper body tumble out. Walt continued to try to hold him down. I remember trying to understand why Green was reacting so violently, why was he doing this, what was he hiding?
Before I could gain control, Green made a throwing motion under the car with his left hand, and when his hand became visible again, he grabbed the butt of my .357 magnum which I wore in a cross-draw on the left side of my stomach. For a milli-second my mind went back to the time a decade ago, when my weapon was wrestled away from me in another hand-to-hand scuffle as my partner and I attempted to thwart a kidnapping. During that violent struggle, it became necessary for my partner to shoot and to kill the kidnapper in order to save my life. That was both a lasting memory and a permanent lesson. Never again would I ever allow anyone to get my gun. I struck Green three or four times with my flashlight until he let go of my gun. I remember hoping I would get some help with this man. By then I was gasping for air between the wrestling with Green and the adrenaline rush.
I grabbed his arm again, and as I did, I noticed an E.M.S. vehicle approaching. I remember waving and signaling to them with my flashlight. They stopped. Green got away from Walt's grasp and his right arm became visible. I noticed something metallic in his clinched fist protruding from between his knuckles. He began swinging this object at my head. I again ordered him to stop, to drop what he had in his hand. He continued swinging the metallic object. I hit him again two or three more times on the head with my flashlight.
By then responding police officers pulled him out of the car, and I felt relief. Someone else would take this man into custody, the struggle was finally over. Green was wired up on cocaine and alcohol and continued his violent resistance. It took several officers to finally subdue and cuff this mere 150 lb. man. E.M.S. lost vital signs en-route to the hospital, and Green died on the Emergency Room table.
Words can not describe the nightmare that followed. I kept saying over and over to myself, "I didn't do anything wrong!" I followed the rules to the letter. I had no intent to take this person's life. I knew that my use of force was justified. The force I used was not excessive, I never fractured his skull. I was very confused. Nevertheless, I was charged with second-degree murder ... I couldn't believe what was happening!
So many things occurred in the following hours and days that were absolutely unthinkable. It started with the press conference held by Police Chief Stanley Knox. Knox, surrounded by several high ranking members of the Detroit Police Department, announced, "This is not Simi Valley, and we will convict here!" Later when Knox was asked if he saw any similarities between this incident and the Rodney King case, he replied, fighting back tears, "I think we all do." This was the first of many comments and occurrences that were used to strip us of our civil and constitutional rights. The following facts are just a few mechanisms used to ensure our second degree murder convictions:
Let's not forget the importance of the local chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., and just how they added to this injustice. This case gave them more fuel for their racist fires. I lived through this case and witnessed "BLACK RACISM" at its absolute finest. The racism was perpetrated by the local chapter, by powerful black officials in the city, and black members of the Detroit Police Department in concert with members of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. There was positively no regard for the truth. The only thing that mattered was "THE HIDDEN AGENDA." The fact that Chief Prosecutor, John O'Hair, stated at his press conference that "there was absolutely no evidence to substantiate that this was a racially motivated incident" was not good enough for the N.A.A.C.P. and their agenda. They organized marches, demonstrated , and proclaimed they would investigate this case personally. The N.A.A.C.P. also raised money for Malice Green's family and paid for his funeral expenses.
As the days passed, I hoped that the prosecuting attorneys would determine that I acted properly. I had a rapport with a great many of these attorneys, and they knew me to be a truthful, hard working police officer. In twenty-four years of service there was not one incident of mis-conduct. I felt equally confident about my fellow officers, and in particular, members of the Homicide Section. These men knew the kind of police officer I was. What a rude awakening! A few of the high ranking homicide officers and the prosecutors absolutely conspired to withhold evidence. They coerced witnesses, they set aside warrants, they covered up a $600 bribe to Teresa Pace [some of that $600 was paid to her under an assumed name], and more. I was stunned.
In my mind and in spite of all the shocking things that came out after our trial, two things stand out most vividly, two specific incidents of misconduct by the prosecutors:
I am sure you can understand my shock when news came out during the trial that there had been a second autopsy by Dr. Cassin. My shock quickly changed to excitement. I couldn't help but think of the hundreds of times that I had testified in a court of law and had first hand knowledge of how judges look for any weakness, loop holes, inconsistencies, and falsehoods to justify a decision of acquittal or a reduction in charges. There were no loop holes in our case, there were sink holes! Certainly the judge would dismiss this case because without "blunt force trauma" as a certain cause of death, that meant that there was clearly reasonable doubt on cause of death and the prosecution had no case for second degree murder. Boy was I naive! I was absolutely blown away when the lawyers just let that slip away, and the judge merely continued the trial.
I believed in the jury system and I believed in the people who one by one said that they could set aside their prejudices and base their decision on the facts of the case. Wrong again! ... "BLACK RACISM" lifted its ugly head and once again our hopes for fairness and justice were dashed. To those jury members we were expendable. We had individuals on our jury who hate white people so much, they won't even talk to whites. Add the fear of riots and looting in the wake of the recent Rodney King verdicts, and it was obvious that we never stood a chance! What I have just stated has been affirmed by juror affidavits so these are not merely idle words. What a sad commentary on our jury system.
Most everyone knows this last point, but it must be mentioned regardless. Just before our case was to go to deliberations, the jury was sequestered for the Thursday and Friday before final arguments because Judge Crockett was going to be out of town. Each jury was given movies to watch to pass the time. The first movie selected was "Malcolm X" ... the most appropriate movie choice to continue the prejudice against us. The opening sequence of this film shows the Rodney King, Los Angeles Police incident along with voice overs about the white race being the most murderous race in the history of mankind, the greatest swine eaters, the greatest drunkards etc., and that the KKK have traded in their white sheets for blue uniforms and their torches for police badges. The final take shows the American Flag burning.
It goes without saying that nobody in the Prosecutors' Office, Detroit Recorders' Court, or the media, was outraged by the showing of "Malcolm X" to our juries. There was one person on our jury who read about it in the newspaper and felt that they should not have been shown the movie and that Defense was asking for a mis-trial ... Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that Judge Crockett had instructed the jury not to read the newspapers, watch TV commentary about the case, or to discuss anything about the case until instructed to do so. SO MUCH FOR THE INTEGRITY OF OUR JURY.
Hope springs eternal, therefore, my fondest hope is that one day very soon I will have the chance to expose the individuals who committed perjury and obstructed justice in my case. Even though formal complaints to our State Attorney General, our Governor, and the local Office of the F.B.I. have fallen on deaf ears, I will not stop until my demands for justice are heard.
In closing, I would like to spell out the number of laws broken by Malice Green that night, and of course, they have all gone unmentioned:
Below is a list of the laws my partner and I broke that same night!
The next link in consecutive order is The Media's Role in the Railroading