Judge Orders Review Of Greene File: Mich. AG To Be Deposed Dec. 11 In Case
DETROIT — A U.S. District Court judge made several rulings Tuesday about what will happen to files and evidence in the Tamara Greene case.
Greene, a dancer known as Strawberry, was rumored to have been at a party thrown at the Moongian Mansion by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2002.
On April 30, 2003, Greene was in a car with her boyfriend on Detroit’s west side when a gunman opened fire on their vehicle, killing Greene and wounding the boyfriend.
Her death has never been solved.
Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Mark Krebs testified in a recent deposition that evidence, including 30 tapes that had contained 911 calls, disappeared while he and other officers were investigating Greene’s death.
Not happy with Kreb’s testimony going public, Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen ruled that the remaining testimony from three other MSP officers will be protected under a seal. Rosen said he can’t have the case interfering with police efforts to solve Greene’s slaying.
Rosen also said there are 36 text messages from city-issued pagers that could be related to the investigation into Greene’s death. The city has asked that the messages not be turned over, but Rosen said he will rule on each text individually and keep all of them from the media.
Krebs has also said it was Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox who shut down the Greene death investigation. Cox denies the claim and recently agreed to be deposed by attorney Norman Yatooma, who is representing Greene’s family in a lawsuit against Detroit.
Yatooma is representing Greene’s family in a $150 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city . Yatooma’s lawsuit claims Kilpatrick and high-ranking police obstructed the investigation into Greene’s unsolved slaying.
Cox will be deposed Dec. 11 at a courthouse. Rosen said his deposition will be protected under seal.
Detroit police reopened Greene’s homicide case file in early October.
The decision to reopen the case follows a Local 4 Defender investigation that uncovered a team of new police officers who, in sworn statements, said they were shut down when they tried to follow up on leads.
Rosen said eight officers, six current and two retired, will be given access to the Greene file to review it — in order to determine if it has been tampered with.
Rosen also said former Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings would be deposed, with her testimony also being kept under seal.
“I hate to disappoint guys, but I can’t say much. Everything I’m permitted to say, the judge already said on the record. He made it Tiffany crystal clear,” Yatooma said outside the hearing Tuesday. “And the rest of us who value the practice of law, should keep our mouths shut.”
A gag order has not been filed in the case, but the judge spoke to lawyers in chambers about his distaste for the amount of case information that has reached the media.
