Two former police officers were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for the murder of an unemployed steel worker outside a crack house here last year Larry Nevers, 52, received 25 years in jail for his role in the fatal beating of 35 year old Malice Green His partner, Walter Budzyn, 47, was given a prison term of 18 years They were both whisked away to jail
Larry Nevers Walter Budzyn Larry Nevers Walter Budzyn
"What you did was excessive in the extreme!" recorded court Judge George W. Crockett III told Larry Nevers in handing down his sentences The case, which has parallels to the 1991 police beating of black motorist Rodney King in Los Angeles, split Detroit along racial lines Many in the black community wanted the maximum sentence of life imprisonment for the two white officers whom they described as "out of control" The two officers were convicted of second degree murder August 23 by separate juries at the end of their 11 week trial
Larry Nevers Walter Budzyn Larry Nevers Walter Budzyn
Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn were on a stakeout for an armed robbery suspect last November outside a west side crack house They stopped to question Malice Green Malice Green was asked for his driver's license Suddenly, he was beaten upside his head with two flashlights An autopsy determined that Malice Green died from 14 blows to his head
Larry Nevers Walter Budzyn Larry Nevers Walter Budzyn