Ex-Officers Plead Not Guilty in Death of Black Motorist

Three white former police officers charged in the bludgeoning death of a black motorist entered not guilty pleas during their arraignment Thursday.

Lawyers for the three, who were fired from their jobs after the incident, also said they want the trial moved from Wayne County because of heavy publicity and remarks by city officials, including Mayor Coleman Young and Police Chief Stanley Knox.

After the death of 35-year-old Malice Green last fall, city officials moved quickly to counter outrage in the black community. They feared violence like that in Los Angeles after white officers were acquitted of most charges in the beating of black motorist Rodney G. King.

No testimony during Thursday’s arraignment indicated that race was a factor in Green’s death.

Witnesses said the beating apparently began after Green refused, on the officers’ orders, to open his fist. Some witnesses testified that he was holding a piece of paper, which fluttered to the ground as he lost consciousness.

Detroit Recorder’s Court Judge Dalton Roberson entered not guilty pleas for Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn after they stood silent at their arraignments on one count each of second-degree murder. A lawyer for Robert Lessnau entered a not guilty plea for him to a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm.

A pretrial conference was set for Feb. 12. No trial date has been set.

Green was beaten Nov. 5, allegedly after Nevers and Budzyn confronted him near a suspected crack house, where he had parked to drop off a friend.

Changes of venue are rarely granted in Michigan. But Budzyn’s lawyer, Michael Batchelor, said he does not believe an impartial jury can be found in Wayne County, especially in light of remarks by civic leaders condemning the death.

“It makes it difficult to try to erase that from the minds of prospective jurors,” Batchelor said.

Furthermore, jurors would be under pressure to convict the officers to avoid violence similar to the riots that broke out in Los Angeles after the King verdict, he said.