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Michigan v. Budzyn
Key Witness Stands by Testimony
(DETROIT, MICHIGAN - Feb. 24) With his past criminal record that included prior arrests by former officer
Larry Nevers and defendant Walter Budzyn, eyewitness Emanuel "Ricky" Brown returned to the stand for cross-examination
and was expected to be thoroughly undermined by defense attorneys. That did not happen.
Under questioning by defense attorney James Howarth, Brown said that he considered himself to be a truthful person,
despite the fact that he had used an alias in the past to avoid arrest. (Howarth asked Brown about using several
different aliases, but the witness admitted to only one.) Brown acknowledged that he had been arrested by Nevers
and Budzyn before their incident with the victim, Malice Green. The witness also said that he had smoked crack, but
he did not consider himself an addict.
Brown testified and physically demonstrated for Budzyn's attorney Howarth how he Budzyn allegedly straddled Green
and hit him repeatedly over the head with a flashlight. The witness conceded that he never actually saw Budzyn make
contact with Green; he only saw the motion of Budzyn's arm and Green's head snapping back from the impact of the
flashlight. So, Jones assumed that Budzyn was hitting Green in the head. According to Brown, Green never fought Nevers and Budzyn or offered resistance. He said that Green did not pull Budzyn into the car and did not see Green kick Budzyn.
Much of Brown's cross-examination focused on areas where his testimony contradicted that of other witnesses. For example, Brown said that Green had his feet inside the car as he searched through his glove compartment; others have testified that Green's feet were outside the car, on the pavement. Brown claimed again he saw Budzyn beating Green's head for some five minutes, an improbably long time. He also claimed that the dome light in Green's car was on during the time of the beating (in actuality, it was not operating that evening). Even the point where Brown was standing is in dispute -- he denied having ever stood near a car wash some distance away, where others have placed him.
The witness offered an interesting excuse for some of the inconsistencies in his story over the years. According to Brown, he originally tried to intentionally forget what he had seen. "I really wasn't trying to remember, because of what I had seen," Brown said. "You are not trying to record each and every detail." Despite the lapses in his recollection, Brown insisted that his current memory of the event is just as fresh and valid as it would have been at the time of the beating.
The last two witnesses called for the day were emergency medical technicians, Albino Martinez and Lee Hardy, who were both at the scene of the altercation. Martinez was the partner of previous witness, Mithyim Lewis, and he and Hardy corroborated Lewis's testimony that Nevers beat Green with the flashlight in the presence of Budzyn. Martinez said that Green never resisted Nevers but only groaned in pain. He also heard Freddie Douglas, the supervisor of Budzyn and Nevers who also witnessed the alleged beating, tell Nevers, "Take it easy." However, Nevers apparently ignored the orders.
Hardy told the court that he was sure that Green only had keys in his hand, and his refusal to open the hand and let Budzyn and Nevers see what was in his hand led to the fatal beating.
However, Hardy also placed Budzyn in Green's car at the same time. He said that Budzyn was searching the car as Nevers beat Green, and Budzyn moved Green's legs as he searched. Hardy also claimed that he could hear the impact of the blows, even though he was somewhat further away from the vehicle than was Budzyn. Hardy is the only EMS technician to testify that Budzyn touched Green as Nevers beat him. It is likely that the prosecution will try to use this testimony to prove that Budzyn aided Nevers in beating Green. Prosecutors may also use it to cross-examine Budzyn (if he testifies) if the former officer claims he was unaware that his partner was beating Green.
Hardy went on to testify that, after Green had been removed from the scene, Budzyn came up to him and asked for something to take blood off. Hardy's partner, Scott Walsh, gave Budzyn some peroxide. He says that he saw Nevers and Budzyn using the peroxide to clean blood off of themselves. Hardy is also the only medical technician to claim that there was blood on Budzyn after the attack.
Hardy concluded his direct testimony by telling the court that he made a point of memorizing every police officer on the scene. Later that night, he typed a message to his supervisor, asking "What do you do if you witness police brutality/murder?" According to the witness, his supervisor responded, "Just do what you think is right."
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