DETROIT (AP) — A detective working a criminal case against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said coincidence led him to a house to try to deliver a subpoena.
Brian White wasn't prepared for what he said followed: a physical confrontation with the beefy mayor that involved a profanity-laced tirade by Kilpatrick and a possible hip fracture for the investigator.
After hearing the allegations Friday, a judge said Kilpatrick's behavior was "totally irrational." He changed the terms of the mayor's bond in the criminal case, ordering him to immediately post $7,500 and undergo random drug tests.
There is no suggestion that drugs played a role in Kilpatrick's behavior.
"I don't know what was going on in defendant Kilpatrick's life that he exploded, for want of a better term," Judge Ronald Giles said. "This is ridiculous."
The 38-year-old mayor and his former top aide, Christine Beatty, are charged with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice, all tied to their testimony in a civil trial last year. During the trial, they denied having a romantic relationship, but those claims are contradicted by text messages.
Kilpatrick declined comment as he walked out of court Friday. A bail bondsman assisted him in paying the $7,500, which represents 10 percent of his previous bond. The mayor hadn't been required to post any cash before the incident.
James Thomas, one of Kilpatrick's lawyers, said there was no pushing or shoving by the mayor. Another Kilpatrick attorney, Jim Parkman, argued there was a credibility problem because two investigators told different versions of the incident.
White, who works for the Wayne County sheriff's department, is a lead investigator in Kilpatrick's perjury case.
He testified at a hearing Friday that he and a colleague were delivering subpoenas for future court hearings a day earlier when he spotted a parked pickup truck with "Ferguson Construction" on the door. White believed it belonged to Bobby Ferguson, a Kilpatrick ally and possible witness who was to be subpoenaed.
White noticed the mayor's police bodyguards outside the house, which belongs to Kilpatrick's sister. He said he flashed his badge, got their OK to proceed and rang the doorbell.
White was told Ferguson wasn't there. Then the detective said he heard a loud voice inside the house.
"Don't tell those (expletive) anything," White quoted the mayor as saying. "I hear, `Get the (F-word) out of here.'"
Kilpatrick, a former college football lineman, "comes storming through the door ... grabs me and throws me into investigator Kinney," White said, referring to fellow investigator JoAnne Kinney.
"He continues to yell, `Get the (F-word) out of here, leave my family alone!' We composed ourselves and left the porch," White testified.
He said he had X-rays taken at a hospital and might have suffered a slight hip fracture.
Kinney, who is black, testified that the mayor criticized her for working with White, who is white.
"You should be ashamed of yourself," she quoted Kilpatrick as saying. "Why are you a part of this?"
Kinney said she had never met the mayor.
"We were just trying to find Bobby Ferguson," she testified. "I couldn't believe this was happening. ... He was irate, very mad, upset."
Michigan State Police are investigating the suspected assault for possible charges. After the hearing,
Thomas disputed that Kilpatrick used the F-word, but he declined to discuss it further. "We don't have to talk about the facts unless there's a charge," he said.
Under Kilpatrick's new bond conditions, personal travel outside Michigan is no longer permitted, nor can he travel on business outside the state without the court's approval. He can go on trips already approved by the court.
Earlier Friday, the judge postponed a ruling on whether to publicly release more of the text messages that led to the criminal charges against Kilpatrick and Beatty. The next hearing was set for Aug. 7.
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