Detroit Officers Guilty of Murder in Beating : Crime: Third policeman is acquitted. Case involving black motorist is reminiscent of Rodney King’s.

Two former police officers were convicted of murder Monday in the fatal beating of a motorist outside a crack house here, bringing to a dramatic close a racially charged case reminiscent of the 1991 Rodney G. King beating by Los Angeles policemen.

Larry Nevers, 52, and Walter Budzyn, 47, were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Malice Green on Nov. 5 last year. They will be sentenced on Oct. 12 and face maximum sentences of life in prison.

A third former officer, Robert Lessnau, 33, was acquitted of assault with intent to do bodily harm.

The two murder convictions drew a sigh of relief from Detroit officials who feared civil disturbances could be set off if the former policemen were acquitted.

The case carried racial overtones because the officers were white and the victim black. Extra police patrolled downtown streets hours after the verdicts were announced but no serious incidents were reported.

“There can be no argument that the case was handled openly and fairly,” said the Rev. H. Irving Mayson, co-chairman of the Race Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit. “In this case, unlike last year’s Simi Valley trial, the justice system worked as it was intended to.”

Mayor Coleman Young, who proclaimed early on that Green was “literally murdered by police,” said justice was done. “I assume that we will have a quiet and orderly reaction in the city, as I think would have been the case had the verdicts gone the other way,” he said.

“I just want to say thanks to everybody for keeping the peace,” police Chief Stanley Knox told an impromptu rally at the site of the Green beating. “We’ve got to stick together and do what’s right.”

However, Tom Schneider, president of the Detroit Police Officers Assn., complained: “The one message that the media have failed to promote is that these situations simply will not occur if the person about to be arrested simply complies with the orders of the officers involved.”

The three officers, who were all fired after the incident, were tried at the same time. Separate juries judged Nevers and Budzyn, while Recorder’s Court Judge George W. Crockett III decided Lessnau’s fate.

The trial, which began in early June, lasted 45 days, involved 50 witnesses and more than 200 exhibits. The Budzyn jury deliberated eight days and the Nevers jury 10.

The jury discussions were often heated and shouting was heard through the courtroom wall occasionally. In a press conference after the verdicts were announced, one juror, who would only identify himself as Karl, said that he had agreed under “duress” to the murder conviction for Budzyn.

“It was a hard and difficult decision for me,” the juror said. “I didn’t believe in the second-degree murder conviction. I didn’t think it was proven as far as intent.”

The juror, however, said he agreed with the verdict when polled by Crockett.

The trial focused on the murky events surrounding the death of Green, a 35-year-old unemployed steelworker. Green was stopped outside a Westside crack house about 10 p.m. by plainclothes officers Budzyn and Nevers. They were on a stakeout looking for an armed robbery suspect.

When Budzyn asked for his driver’s license, Green leaned over to the glove compartment with something in his hand. The officer ordered him to unclench his fist, but he refused. A struggle ensued in which both officers struck with fists and flashlights.

Lessnau and four other officers arrived on the scene in response to calls of help from Budzyn and Nevers. Lessnau attempted to handcuff the still struggling Green, allegedly kicking him in the head. He denied the charge.

An autopsy found that Green died from 14 blows to the head. One blow was so severe that his scalp was partially torn off. The autopsy also showed that Green was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine at the time of his death.

The prosecution portrayed the officers as out of control and exercising “a raw abuse of power.” The defense said Budzyn, with 19 years on the force, and Nevers, a 24-year veteran, were just doing their job on the front lines of a war zone where drugs and crime are rampant.

During the trial, Budzyn denied hitting Green in the head with his flashlight. Nevers said he hit Green in self-defense only after Green had grabbed for his gun.

But several witnesses said the officers had repeatedly struck Green in the head when he refused to open his hand. They continued to do so even when it appeared that he was badly injured, the witnesses said.

The defense attacked the credibility of several witnesses, who admitted to being prostitutes and drug users. They also attacked the autopsy findings, calling in medical experts who testified that cocaine could have contributed to Green’s death.

In the closing arguments, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Kym Worthy attacked the defense claims that the officers did not brutalize Green. “Aliens must have beaten Malice Green or he must have beaten himself,” she said. “Malice Green started bleeding from his head for no apparent reason, if you believe him (Budzyn).”

When the verdicts were read, Budzyn showed no reaction. Nevers, however, slumped forward in his seat, brought his hands over his face and wept. The officers will remain free on bond until the sentencing.

Lessnau also remained stoic as Crockett announced his not guilty verdict. Crockett said there was simply not enough evidence that Lessnau kicked Green, and he believed police officers had to exercise some force to do their jobs.

Outside the courtroom, Nevers’ cousin, Richard Howe of Bloomfield Township, expressed sadness at the verdicts. “A man died, and that’s very, very sad thing. But it wasn’t second-degree murder.”

But Sherry Green, the victim’s sister, said: “I think my brother can rest in peace, finally.”

Defense attorneys expressed disappointment with the verdicts and said they were weighing appeals.

John Goldpaugh, Nevers’ attorney, said that an appeal could be based on Crockett’s refusal to grant a change of venue out of Detroit and the showing of the film “Malcolm X” to the jurors during a trial break.

The beginning of the film shows footage from the videotaped beating of King. The defense attorneys said the playing of that scene could make the jurors more likely to convict the officers if they drew a parallel to the two cases.

However, Cliff Cheek, the foreman for the Nevers’ jury, said the “Malcolm X” film was not discussed during deliberations and had no impact on the outcome.

Comparisons between the Green and King cases have been drawn since the Detroit incident occurred. But officials in Detroit also point out there are significant differences as well.

The King case was moved out of Los Angeles to Simi Valley where it was heard by a jury of 10 whites, a Latino and an Asian-American. The result was an acquittal on state charges and subsequent riots that set the city aflame for several days, resulting in 53 deaths, 17,000 arrests and 1,148 buildings damaged or destroyed. Two of the Los Angeles officers were later convicted on federal charges.

The Green case remained in Detroit. The presiding judge was black; Budzyn’s jury consisted of 11 blacks and one white; Nevers’ jury had 10 blacks and two whites.