Detroit cop guilty of fatal beating dies

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DETROIT, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Larry Nevers, who was one of two white Detroit police officers convicted in the 1992 beating death of a black driver, has died.

Nevers, 72, of Macomb had been suffering from emphysema, The Detroit News reported. The Macomb County Coroner's Office said he died Sunday.

The death of Malice Green after a traffic stop in November 1992 exacerbated racial tensions in Detroit. Nevers and Walter Budzyn were convicted of second-degree murder. Nevers won an appeal and was convicted at a second trial of involuntary manslaughter.

In 2006, after his release from prison, Nevers published a book: "Good Cops, Bad Verdict: How Racial Politics Convicted Us of Murder."

Ron Scott, head of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, said he attended a book signing.

"He was still telling the audience he had done the right thing," Scott said. "In his mind, he never came to terms with the reality of his actions, and what could have happened. There could've been a major disturbance in this city."

John Goldpaugh, a lawyer who represented Nevers, said he was "strong in his convictions." He said other Detroit police officers still wanted to work with Nevers and Budzyn.

"He was there all the time for his fellow officers," Goldpaugh said.