No Justice, No Police
In surfing the web, we came across this great editorial written by Jimmy Smith on the LETP (Law Enforcement Trainer's Page). Visit their site at www.lawenforcement-trainer.com
Last week in Detroit, Michigan, a verdict was rendered in the case of Budzyn v. Michigan. In this case, some might say that justice was served, but that depends on what side of the fence you are on. This case, although televised on Court T.V., drew little national media attention. This was not always the case. When the defendant, former Detroit Police Officer Walter Budzyn, was originally tried, it made national headlines. In the original trial, both Walter Budzyn and his partner Larry Nevers, were convicted of second degree murder.
In fact, this case drew so much media attention, it was even the subject of a 60 Minutes segment with Ed Bradley, who appeared somewhat skeptical of the original verdict in his interview of those involved in the case.
The case involves the death of Malice Green, who died after a struggle with these officers on a traffic stop. Green, who was a black man who resisted arrest and struggled with these officers in an apparent attempt to destroy the crack cocaine he possessed, was admittedly struck with a flashlight by Larry Nevers in the head area.
This incident followed close on the heels of the Rodney King incident in Los Angeles, where the King riots occurred after a jury found the officers involved in that incident not guilty of all but a couple of minor charges.
Both Nevers and Budzyn were publicly declared murderers a couple of days later, by both the Detroit Police Chief and the Detroit Mayor, and fired without even a required internal affairs investigation, or departmental trial. Both the Mayor and the Police Chief were black.
A criminal trial occurred, and both officers were prosecuted by a black female prosecutor, who paraded witness after witness on the stand in the state's case. These witnesses were for the most part black, with one notable exception, a white convicted prostitute, with an admitted crack cocaine addiction. All were witnesses to the alleged murder of Malice Green by these two officers.
During jury deliberations, the jury was shown the video taped movie Malcolm X, which opens with the now infamous video tape of the Rodney King incident and the actor playng Malcolm X declaring the white man a criminal. Both Nevers and Budzyn, who are white, were convicted and sent to prison where they served several years before their convictions were overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court and a Federal Appeals Court.
During Budzyn's second trial, evidence was presented by an all white prosecution team, while the trial was presided over by a black judge. The judge, who was very fair minded, and for all appearances an impartial jurist, allowed the jury to consider a lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter. The judge premised that instruction by STRIKING a provision of the jury instructions, that instructed the jurors to consider the fact that Budzyn had a duty to act, or to stop Larry Nevers from using unreasonable force against Green.
Both the prosecution team and the defense team were instructed to strike this language from the lesser included offense instructions, outside the presence of the jury. The evidence presented at the trial by both sides created a picture for the casual observer that it was basically a draw. In other words, the standard for a conviction in this or any other criminal case of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, could not be shown. This generally equates to a not guilty verdict for the defendant in a criminal case.
This was not going to be the case for Walter Budzyn. During the state's closing argument, the prosecutor summed up his case in chief. He then moved to the phase of the closing argument where he presented the jury with a blow up exhibit of the jury instructions for the lessor included offense of involuntary manslaughter. This exhibit INCLUDED that portion of the instructions that the judge had specifically struck from the jury instructions to the jury. Walter Budzyn's fate was sealed at this point, the seed was planted in the minds of the jurors.
Budzyn's defense team objected, and made a motion for a mistrial. The judge, after removing the jury, denied the motion and admonished the prosecution team for using the language he had specifically struck. After several days of deliberations, the jury found Walter Budzyn guilty of the lesser included offense.
Budzyn will surely appeal the case and has grounds for appeal. In a trial of this nature, especially one that is televised nationally, nothing is left to chance. The idea that one prosecutor did not consult with the other on something as important as the jury instructions, which by the way, is the excuse they gave for having the struck instruction on their exhibit, is not only unreasonable, but it is outright unbelievable.
If this was not an oversight, then the only thing it can be is an over zealous, politically correct, and a politically motivated last ditch effort to save a losing case. In this case it was out right prosecutorial misconduct designed to subvert the fairness of Budzyn's trial and sway the jury into a guilty verdict, all the time remembering that Larry Nevers, who admittedly struck Green during the struggle, was yet to be retried. A not guilty verdict for Budzyn would have meant that the Larry Nevers' upcoming trial would be in jeopardy in this politically and racially charged atmosphere.
The demonstrations in Detroit after the Green incident, and the chants of "No Justice No Peace," rang out on every T.V. network in the nation. Anytime any human being dies, it is indeed a sad event. When that death occurs under circumstances such as was the case here, then of course it should be investigated to the fullest extent. That investigation should not be influenced by or for political considerations. Impartiality must by present, to protect all involved. The officers, the victim and indeed, the community.
For whatever reason, that fatal night Malice Green, and Malice Green alone, chose to possess drugs, he chose to be under the influence of drugs, he chose to be where he was at, he chose not to sumit to a lawful arrest, and he chose to fight with officers in an attempt to cover up his crimes. It is unfortunate that Malice Green paid the ultimate price for his choices that night.
Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers could have very easily walked away from this whole incident by ignoring their training and instincts as police officers, but they did not. They chose to do the job they were paid to do and as a result, tragically, Green died as a result of his actions, not theirs.
While this case continues to unfold, with both the retrial of Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn's appeal, the politically correct and racially charged forces will be at work attempting to discredit and sabotage these officers' rights to a fair trial, and trying to immortalize Green as one of the oppressed masses, and villianize Budzyn and Nevers as the bigoted oppressors. This case however, goes beyond Budzyn and Nevers, it goes beyond the Detroit Police Department, and indeed the City of Detroit.
It has a chilling effect on every community in this country, because it adds to a significant number of other politically correct and racially charged cases that involve law enforcement officers all over the country. It causes police officers to hesitate to do their jobs and as we all know hesitation kills. When police officers no longer feel they can do their jobs without the fear of becoming political scapegoats, the ultimate victims will be the communities they serve. No justice for Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers ultimately means no justice for anyone at all.
The next time you hear those demonstration chants, listen closely because they may sound different. You may hear "NO JUSTICE, NO POLICE."
written by: Jimmy Smith, March 1998, The Law Enforcement Trainer's Page, www.lawenforcement-trainer.com