Christine Beatty

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Christine Rowland Beatty (b. May 1970) served as the Chief of Staff from 2002 to 2008 to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. She resigned in January 2008 amid an emerging political-sex scandal and criminal charges of perjury related to a whistleblower trial for lying under oath about their extramarital affair and that they sought to mislead jurors when they testified that they did not fire Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown. She and Kilpatrick are currently awaiting trial on perjury and other criminal charges. Beatty was a respondent in a $25,000 settled slander lawsuit initiated by two other police officers.

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[edit] Personal life

Beatty, who was born Christine L. Rowland, graduated from Cass Tech High School and was voted its "most-popular student" in 1988.[1] She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Howard University and a master's degree from Wayne State University.[2]

She married Lou Beatty and they have two children. The marriage ended in divorce in 2006.[2]

Beatty is currently a law student at Wayne State University.

[edit] Text-messaging scandal

Main article: Kilpatrick and Beatty text-messaging scandal
Kwame Kilpatrick
Kwame Kilpatrick

In January 2008, The Detroit Free Press examined more than 14,000 text messages exchanged between Beatty and Kilpatrick on their city issued SkyTel pagers between September–October 2002 and April–May 2003. The dates are of importance because they encompass the time periods of the alleged Manoogian Mansion party and the ouster of Gary Brown respectively.[3]

Beatty and Kilpatrick, both married to other people at the time, did discuss city business. However, many of the series of messages described not a professional relationship but an extramarital sexual relationship between the two, often in graphic detail. The text messages further described their use of city funds to arrange romantic getaways, their fears of being caught by the mayor's police protection unit, and evidence the pair conspired to fire Detroit Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown.[3]

In an August 2007 trial, Kilpatrick and Beatty both denied that they had a sexual relationship or that they fired Brown while under oath.

Beatty resigned as mayoral chief of staff stating "I believe that it is clear I can no longer effectively carry out the duties of chief of staff."[1] She did not indicate if she would resign from her position of the Detroit Medical Center board of directors. [4]

[edit] Criminal investigation and charges

Main article: Kilpatrick-Beatty criminal trial

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy began an investigation of perjury charges after the Detroit Free Press revealed the existence of text messages which supported allegations that Kilpatrick and Beatty lied under oath about an extramarital affair during a lawsuit brought by Detroit police officers.[5]

The investigation ended with Beatty being charged with seven felonies consisting of perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five to fifteen years in prison.[5]

[edit] Slander Suit

Beatty was named in a slander lawsuit along with Kwame Kilpatrick and police chief Ella Bully-Cummings brought about by two police officers that claimed to have been slandered in the media by the trio.[6]

The lawsuit stems from a 2004 incident in which the two police officers pulled Beatty over for speeding. Beatty was irate at being stopped and bluntly asked the officers, "Do you know who the fuck I am?" when the officers came to the vehicle. [6] While stopped, Beatty called Police Chief Bully-Cummings to have the officers called off, which the officers allege they were ordered to do. When reports of the incident started to surface in the media, Beatty, Kilpatrick, and Bully-Cummings all claimed that the traffic stop was some type of "set-up" to harass Beatty.[7]

The parties in the law suit entered into mediation which recommended a settlement of $25,000 which was rejected twice by the Detroit City Council.[8]

The attorney for the officers said "The mayor has been exposed and I may want more money for my clients now," after it was revealed through text messages that Kikpatrick and Beatty were involved in a sexual relationship that both denied under oath.[7]

The lawsuit was settled for $25,000 and the attorney for the officers said of the officers,"They don’t want to be embroiled in this whole [text messaging] scandal."[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Staff Writer (2008-01-28). Beatty quits, says she regrets 'devastation' caused by scandal. freep.com. Gannett. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  2. ^ a b Once powerful, Beatty become first casualty. freep.com. Gannett. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  3. ^ a b Schaefer, Jim; M.L. Elrick (2008-01-24). Mayor Kilpatrick, chief of staff lied under oath, text messages show Romantic exchanges undercut denials. freep.com. The Detroit Free Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  4. ^ "I would never quit on you", freep.com, Gannett, 2008-01-30. Retrieved on 2008-01-30. 
  5. ^ a b "List of charges against Christine Beatty", WXYZ News Detroit, 2008-03-24. Retrieved on 2008-03-25. 
  6. ^ a b Cop Talk. The MetroTimes (2005-11-20). Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  7. ^ a b Schmtt, Ben (2008-01-25). Slander Suit Cops who stopped Beatty rethink. The Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  8. ^ a b Schmitt, Ben (2008-02-19). City Council OKs $25,000 settlement to cops who pulled Beatty over. freep.com. Gannett. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.