Malice Green

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Malice Green was a black Detroit citizen who died while in police custody after being arrested by Detroit Police Officers Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers on November 5, 1992 during a traffic stop. Both officers were white. Green was under the influence of crack cocaine and alcohol and was approached by the officers because he was observed entering and exiting a known crack house. Green allegedly failed to relinquish a vial of crack cocaine, assaulted the officers, attempted to grab Nevers' gun and resisted arrest. Nevers struck Green in the head with his flashlight during the struggle. Ultimately, four officers were required to handcuff Green.

Green was transported to a local hospital for treatment of what were thought to be minor head injuries sustained in the struggle, where he died unexpectedly after a seizure.

Initially the coroner's report stated that Green died of blunt force trauma to the head. This report was widely circulated by the press, and is still commonly believed today.

A subsequent report stated that Green died of heart failure, caused in part by an enlarged heart due to years of substance abuse, aggravated by the struggle with police.

1 Racial context
2 Coroner's reports
3 Legal proceedings
4 Appeals
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Racial context

The incident occurred only months after race riots in LA which protested the acquittal of police offices in the video-taped beating of Rodney King. The 1992 Los Angeles riots resulted in over 40 deaths and more than $1 billion in damages.

Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young came to office shortly after the 1967 Detroit riots and feared a repeat of the LA riot in Detroit (much as the 1967 Detroit riot followed closely the Newark riot). Young stated that Green was "literally murdered by police" on national television less than 72 hours after the incident. He also stated that the "wrong" verdict in the case could cause riots similar to those in Los Angeles after the Rodney King incident.

[edit] Coroner's reports

There is considerable controversy surrounding the coroner's report and exact cause of death of Malice Green.

The report was done by Dr. Kahlil Jiraki, the most junior coroner in the department. He was rushed due to workload and his impending vacation. Allegedly, before he started working, an officer told him white cops had beaten a black man, to which he replied, "I got the picture, say no more." He released his results within a day.

The autopsy showed cuts to the scalp as well as subarachnoid hemorrhage and brain contusions. However, there were no skull fractures, no other bone fractures, and no brain swelling. Green's heart was enlarged and the arteries hardened. Toxicology results ultimately showed that Green had a cocaine level of .50 micrograms.

Jiraki concluded that the death was caused by blunt force trauma, which caused swelling of the brain. Jiraki testified in Budzyn and Nevers' trial that the damage was done by "Fourteen blunt force trauma blows to the head." He stated that his boss, Dr. Bader Cassin, agreed that Green’s drug consumption was as "insignificant as the color of his eyes" as the cause of death.

However, Jiraki confirmed under cross-examination that there was no swelling noted in the report, nor no fractures to the skull. In the trial of Sgt. Douglas, Jiraki reduced the number of blows to seven (which fit with Nevers’ testimony). And, at Nevers' second trial, Dr. Cassin testified that he examined the body the day after Dr. Jiraki made his examination (this second exam was never disclosed to the defense prior to, or during, the first trial) and that drugs played a major part in Green's death.

After the trial, Jiraki sued the coroner's office, claiming that he was pressured to alter his findings by his superiors to change his findings to state that cocaine contributed to Green's death (which he refused to do). He was awarded $2.5 million by a jury. He was fired due to supposed mental instability and absenteeism.

Dr. Jiraki's testimony was supported by the prosecution's paid medical expert Dr. Michael Baden. Baden was regularly a paid expert, including in the O.J. Simpson murder case, as well as many other high-profile trials. After the trial, Baden allegedly told a pathologist’s conference that he came to his conclusion based on information surrounding the circumstances of Green’s death, and not entirely on facts in the exam.

Budzyn and Nevers' defense presented three experts, one of whom stipulated that they identified eleven blunt-force injuries to Green's head. However, they testified that Green’s head injuries were entirely "superficial" and "could not have caused his death." They noted that Green had no fractures, no significant bleeding or bruising of the brain, and no swelling of the brain. It was their opinion that Green died as a result of cocaine and alcohol abuse, combined with his physical struggle with police as he resisted arrest, and the minor head injuries. They stated that these things, in combination, caused a surge of adrenaline which overloaded the electrical circuits in Green’s brain resulting in brain seizure, respiratory failure, cardiac arrest and death.

[edit] Legal proceedings

Stanley Knox, Detroit's Chief of Police, denied the officers involved a Police Board of Review and refused to hear their side of the story, firing or suspending without pay all 7 officers at the scene. Knox openly compared this incident to the Rodney King incident in LA.

The City of Detroit paid a civil agreement of $5.25 million to Malice Green's family before the criminal trial of Budzyn and Nevers began. The reason given by the city attorney was that "a generous settlement might spare the city the riotous violence that racked Los Angeles after the acquittal of the police officers."

Officers Nevers, Budzyn, Robert Lessnau, and Freddie Douglas were charged in the death. Ultimately, charges against Sgt. Douglas were dropped, and Lessnau was acquitted of assault.

Budzyn and Nevers' trial, by most accounts, was not held in good order. The judge announced publicly that there would be no change of venue before such a request was made. The coroner did not disclose the second exculpatory report to the defense. Most of the prosecution's witnesses were drug dealers, prostitutes, etc. The Appeals ruling noted: "...the civilian witnesses all had either consumed alcohol or cocaine sometime before witnessing the exchange, three of them were friends with Green (Fletcher, Hollins, and Pace), and there was some suggestion from their testimony that they had reason to dislike these officers."

Budzyn and Nevers were not given separate trials, but were allowed separate juries. On one, a high-ranking local NAACP member sat on one jury during the trial, adding suspicion to the circumstances surrounding the officers' convictions, possibly due to a less-than-truthful voir dire. Both juries were almost entirely composed of black citizens. During this time, movies were provided for the juries' entertainment, including the movie "Malcolm X," during sequester. "Malcolm X" depicts police brutality by white policemen including the beating of Rodney King, plus a voiceover that claims white cops are the descendants of the Ku Klux Klan and makes a direct reference to "the streets of Detroit." The juries watched the video on at least two occasions towards the end of the trial.

The testimony of the responding EMTs was very damaging to Budzyn and Nevers. They all testified that Green was covered with blood and was hanging from the driver's side door when they arrived. These witnesses said that Nevers struck Green in the head with his heavy police flashlight repeatedly even though Green was not offering any significant resistance. Two of them stated that Nevers told Green to open his hands and hold still, and that, when he did not, Nevers hit him with the flashlight. They described Green as "dazed" and "stuporous" during the incident, saying that Green was uttering only a few words like "wait" while Nevers was striking him.

Both officers were convicted of second-degree murder.

[edit] Appeals

On July 31, 1997, the Michigan Supreme Court granted a new trial for Walter Budzyn, but denied the appeal by Larry Nevers, mostly on the grounds of the showing of "Malcolm X."

Budzyn was immediately released from prison. He was retried, and on March 19, 1998, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and in January 1999 the Michigan Court of Appeals reinstated his 4 to 15 year prison sentence. He had already served the minimum under the first conviction, and was released.

Larry Nevers was successful on his appeal to a Federal court, which overturned the verdict in 1999. It cited the showing of "Malcolm X" as well as jury members' hearing of preparations in case of riots should the officers be acquitted. This decision was appealed to the US Supreme Court, which let it stand.

Nevers was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in May, 2000. He was sentenced to 7-15 years in prison. In March, 2003 this conviction was overturned by the State Appeals Court, but in September, 2003, the State Supreme Court upheld that conviction. During this process Nevers was treated for lung cancer, and was released in 2001 to serve the rest of his sentence at home.