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Tamara Greene Case Dismissed, Family Attorney Plans Appeal

DETROIT (WWJ) - The lawsuit filed by the family of murdered exotic dancer Tamara Greene against the City of Detroit has been dismissed.

The suit claimed city and police officials stymied an investigation into the 2003 shooting death of 27-year-old Greene. She was rumored to have performed at a never-proven 2002 Manoogian Mansion party during the time Kwame Kilpatrick was Detroit's mayor. The city and Kilpatrick have denied the claims.

"Shocked and outraged," said Greene family attorney Norm Yatooma.

"After six years, these kids have litigating this case for most of their lives, and that's not enough, the cops who've been canned -- they get to trail and they prevail in front of a jury,  but the court dismisses this case? These kids earned their day in court and it's a dark, dark day for the legal system when bias takes authority over justice and that's precisely what happened here," said Yatooma.

Yatooma believes that enough evidence provided and plans on appealing.

"Every good cop who has investigated this case has been punished for it, every one of them. They've been demoted, in some cases terminated, and in some cases they - themselves have already prevailed in front of a jury, for the treatment they received as a result of simply investigating Kwame Kilpatrick or the murder of Tamara Green," said Yatooma.

WWJ Legal Analyst and Talk Radio 1270 morning show host Charlie Langton said that the judge's decision was what he expected.

"I did not think that the plaintiff in the case, the family of Tamara Greene, actually proved that Kwame Kilpatrick intended to stop the family from filing a lawsuit, and that is a very narrow legal issue. But there was just not enough evidence," said Langton.

Langton said the judge's opinion really raises more questions than answers.

"We may never know how Tamara Greene died and what involvement Kwame Kilpatrick had. That's just the case," said Langton.

"However, saying all that, it's just not enough to bring a lawsuit where Kwame Kilpatrick may have had some involvement in the cover up or tampering with the investigation. You can't just guess," he said.

John Schapka, the city lawyer on the case, said he is very pleased with the decision, adding that Judge Rosen's opinion and analysis was "beyond any question accurate."

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