A chilling account concerning a gross injustice...
What Larry Nevers and his partner, Walter Budzyn, experienced is nothing short of a nightmare. It's an obscenity! In my opinion, Nevers writes in detail, with verifiable facts and information, about what ultimately led up to their wrongful conviction and incarceration. In fact, Nevers challenges readers to verify any information noted through out the book. I found it to be a difficult book to put down. A must read for anyone who is a law enforcement officer...
Posted by Charlie410 - Dallas, TX on Sunday, 03.9.08 @ 23:37pm
I finally read the book as I only learned of its existence about 2 months ago. (I only wish I knew of it a lot sooner!) The book is excellent! Well written and very detailed!
I know there is likely nothing that can be done to change what Larry and Walter went through but at least take comfort in the fact that Larry's book is out there to tell this incredible story. A lot of people already have read this book. And I am certain many more will read it too!
Thanks to Larry for getting his story out there for all the world to see. Trust in the fact I will be, (and already have been), recommending his book to others when the opportunity presents itself. If it were up to me, I think anyone in the LE profession working the streets "just doing their
job" in America today definitely need to read this book! Take care & may God bless Larry, Walter and their families.
Posted by Chuck on Tuesday, 03.11.08 @ 07:17am
Larry you did a great job with the book. I could not put it down.
It goes to show you that when politics get involved nothing good can come of it. Larry and Walter (Police Officers "Just doing their job.") were railroaded and should have been given opportuity for a board of review and were put through the ringer and stripped of their badge, gun, and dignity.
Thanks Larry for your courage in writing this book and telling the public the truth. Take care and God Bless Larry, Walter and their families.
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 03.12.08 @ 23:15pm
I wasn't going to buy the book because I thought I knew everything that had happened. However my brother bought the book and after reading it himself, he passed it along to me.
I have to say I had forgotten a lot of what had happened after the night of November 5th.....I don't know, maybe I blocked a lot of it out. But once I got into this book the injustice of the way Nevers and Budzyn were treated came rushing back.
Not only does Larry tell you the sequence of events of that night and of what happened afterwards, but he tells you what was going on in his heart and of the heartbreak he felt by the betrayal of the city and police department he once loved and had devoted his life to.
This is a story of racism but not in the way you might expect. You'll get a first hand look in how the black leadership of a major American city used the power and resources at their disposal, to ensure the conviction of two white police officers of murder and of the steps they took to deny them a fair and impartial trial.
This incredulous story true and it is a story you won't want to believe. This page turner is one you have to buy and is one you won't be able to put down.
Posted by Jim Kijek on Thursday, 07.24.08 @ 12:56pm
I grew up in the area Larry was responsible for protecting for all of those years. I also know the kind of person Larry had to deal with everyday. Larry tells the true story of what happend at Warren and 23rd that night. I am a proud supporter of Larry Nevers and I think this book should be required in every police academy class and criminal justice class in the country.
I give it 5 stars and a big thumbs up.
Posted by Bill Gipson on Wednesday, 09.24.08 @ 11:47am
A complex, lengthy legal case is so difficult for a defendant to describe, but Mr. Nevers has managed to succinctly outline the series of events, hearings, and decisions made at his precinct and in Detroit Recorders Court which not only ended his career of distinction, but slammed the barred doors closed on two cops for nothing more than doing their jobs. Nevers' first person narrative reads like an uninterrupted, well-thought-out conversational account of this train wreck of events following "a good arrest gone bad" after darkness fell on November 5, 1992. Presented as linearly and logically as possible, Nevers begins with an intriguing description of his duties and challenges as a Detroit Precinct Police Officer, which establishes his solid work ethic and justified pride in his career. He then provides a carefully detailed account of everything he remembers from the night Malice Green died of severe complications from his crack cocaine lifestyle while in police custody for possession and resisting arrest. The book provides an honest examination of the lunatic legal system poisoned by racial politics and a seething spirit of revenge on the part of the judge and jury to crucify Nevers and his partner Budzyn for the unrelated death of Rodney King, and possibly for every transgression, whether real or imagined, made by every white male Detroit police officer against the citizens they pledged to protect dating back to the 50's, the turbulent 60's, the 70's, and the 80's.
Black history cannot ever be factored out, particularly when considering ignorant prejudice behavior and culture propagated by our white forefathers against the black community in Detroit and across the nation during past decades, but officers Nevers and Budzyn were NOT appropriate scapegoats. My heart goes out to Larry Nevers, and his wife and daughter. Read the book, and raise your level of awareness so that future media attacks spouting "police brutality" can be staunched by a community that takes the time to find facts and act quickly. No officer of the law should ever again be erroneously convicted of murder or manslaughter when rationally escalating force to arrest a felon driven by cocaine frenzy, no matter what race either of the parties happens to be. Follow the “What Can I Do” link on this site to learn more.
Posted by Faye Burdzinski on Friday, 01.15.10 @ 23:48pm
The link referenced in the last line of my review above is entitled "What You Can Do" and is found on the larrynevers.com site My apologies.
Posted by Faye Burdzinski on Friday, 01.15.10 @ 23:54pm
I just finished reading Larrys book and I must say I am appauled at how he and Walter were treated from day one.
It was as if 24 years of quality service meant absolutely nothing to anyone from higher up within the City. Coleman Young and Stanley Knox could not have been more obtuse when the chose to condemn these brave men within days of the incident without knowing a tenth of the facts.
As a police officer within Wayne County I can only pray that I do not have the unfortunate chance encounter with anything remotely as crazy as the situation they found themselves in that night, knowing what the likes of Kym Worthy and the rest are capable of.
I wish these two guys the very best and I am really glad I had the opportunity to read this well written - 5 star book, A must read in my opinion...
Read what other people have said about Good Cops, Bad Verdict:
8 reviews so far (post your own review)A chilling account concerning a gross injustice...
What Larry Nevers and his partner, Walter Budzyn, experienced is nothing short of a nightmare. It's an obscenity! In my opinion, Nevers writes in detail, with verifiable facts and information, about what ultimately led up to their wrongful conviction and incarceration. In fact, Nevers challenges readers to verify any information noted through out the book. I found it to be a difficult book to put down. A must read for anyone who is a law enforcement officer...
Posted by Charlie410 - Dallas, TX on Sunday, 03.9.08 @ 23:37pm
I finally read the book as I only learned of its existence about 2 months ago. (I only wish I knew of it a lot sooner!) The book is excellent! Well written and very detailed!
I know there is likely nothing that can be done to change what Larry and Walter went through but at least take comfort in the fact that Larry's book is out there to tell this incredible story. A lot of people already have read this book. And I am certain many more will read it too!
Thanks to Larry for getting his story out there for all the world to see. Trust in the fact I will be, (and already have been), recommending his book to others when the opportunity presents itself. If it were up to me, I think anyone in the LE profession working the streets "just doing their
job" in America today definitely need to read this book! Take care & may God bless Larry, Walter and their families.
Posted by Chuck on Tuesday, 03.11.08 @ 07:17am
Larry you did a great job with the book. I could not put it down.
It goes to show you that when politics get involved nothing good can come of it. Larry and Walter (Police Officers "Just doing their job.") were railroaded and should have been given opportuity for a board of review and were put through the ringer and stripped of their badge, gun, and dignity.
Thanks Larry for your courage in writing this book and telling the public the truth. Take care and God Bless Larry, Walter and their families.
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, 03.12.08 @ 23:15pm
I wasn't going to buy the book because I thought I knew everything that had happened. However my brother bought the book and after reading it himself, he passed it along to me.
I have to say I had forgotten a lot of what had happened after the night of November 5th.....I don't know, maybe I blocked a lot of it out. But once I got into this book the injustice of the way Nevers and Budzyn were treated came rushing back.
Not only does Larry tell you the sequence of events of that night and of what happened afterwards, but he tells you what was going on in his heart and of the heartbreak he felt by the betrayal of the city and police department he once loved and had devoted his life to.
This is a story of racism but not in the way you might expect. You'll get a first hand look in how the black leadership of a major American city used the power and resources at their disposal, to ensure the conviction of two white police officers of murder and of the steps they took to deny them a fair and impartial trial.
This incredulous story true and it is a story you won't want to believe. This page turner is one you have to buy and is one you won't be able to put down.
Posted by Jim Kijek on Thursday, 07.24.08 @ 12:56pm
I grew up in the area Larry was responsible for protecting for all of those years. I also know the kind of person Larry had to deal with everyday. Larry tells the true story of what happend at Warren and 23rd that night. I am a proud supporter of Larry Nevers and I think this book should be required in every police academy class and criminal justice class in the country.
I give it 5 stars and a big thumbs up.
Posted by Bill Gipson on Wednesday, 09.24.08 @ 11:47am
A complex, lengthy legal case is so difficult for a defendant to describe, but Mr. Nevers has managed to succinctly outline the series of events, hearings, and decisions made at his precinct and in Detroit Recorders Court which not only ended his career of distinction, but slammed the barred doors closed on two cops for nothing more than doing their jobs. Nevers' first person narrative reads like an uninterrupted, well-thought-out conversational account of this train wreck of events following "a good arrest gone bad" after darkness fell on November 5, 1992. Presented as linearly and logically as possible, Nevers begins with an intriguing description of his duties and challenges as a Detroit Precinct Police Officer, which establishes his solid work ethic and justified pride in his career. He then provides a carefully detailed account of everything he remembers from the night Malice Green died of severe complications from his crack cocaine lifestyle while in police custody for possession and resisting arrest. The book provides an honest examination of the lunatic legal system poisoned by racial politics and a seething spirit of revenge on the part of the judge and jury to crucify Nevers and his partner Budzyn for the unrelated death of Rodney King, and possibly for every transgression, whether real or imagined, made by every white male Detroit police officer against the citizens they pledged to protect dating back to the 50's, the turbulent 60's, the 70's, and the 80's.
Black history cannot ever be factored out, particularly when considering ignorant prejudice behavior and culture propagated by our white forefathers against the black community in Detroit and across the nation during past decades, but officers Nevers and Budzyn were NOT appropriate scapegoats. My heart goes out to Larry Nevers, and his wife and daughter. Read the book, and raise your level of awareness so that future media attacks spouting "police brutality" can be staunched by a community that takes the time to find facts and act quickly. No officer of the law should ever again be erroneously convicted of murder or manslaughter when rationally escalating force to arrest a felon driven by cocaine frenzy, no matter what race either of the parties happens to be. Follow the “What Can I Do” link on this site to learn more.
Posted by Faye Burdzinski on Friday, 01.15.10 @ 23:48pm
The link referenced in the last line of my review above is entitled "What You Can Do" and is found on the larrynevers.com site My apologies.
Posted by Faye Burdzinski on Friday, 01.15.10 @ 23:54pm
I just finished reading Larrys book and I must say I am appauled at how he and Walter were treated from day one.
It was as if 24 years of quality service meant absolutely nothing to anyone from higher up within the City. Coleman Young and Stanley Knox could not have been more obtuse when the chose to condemn these brave men within days of the incident without knowing a tenth of the facts.
As a police officer within Wayne County I can only pray that I do not have the unfortunate chance encounter with anything remotely as crazy as the situation they found themselves in that night, knowing what the likes of Kym Worthy and the rest are capable of.
I wish these two guys the very best and I am really glad I had the opportunity to read this well written - 5 star book, A must read in my opinion...
Posted by Chuck M on Tuesday, 07.20.10 @ 07:46am