Case Acquitted – Final Arguments:  Was It Self-Defense or Murder? 

By Adriana Marroquin , Jeff Levine - August 18, 2023
Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

Green was acquitted of murder on Aug. 24, 2023.

On Aug. 18, parties in the Tamika Green trial rested their cases and presented their closing arguments after an emotional three-week trial before DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo. 

Green, 37, is charged with second-degree murder, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, for allegedly murdering her boyfriend on Feb. 20, 2020 in an apartment on the 1600 block of 18th Street, SE. 

Bryan Tate Jr., 37, died from gunshot wounds sustained in his shoulder and hip. Defense attorneys say Green was acting in self-defense during a physical altercation with Tate. 

Green’s defense attorneys continued questioning one of Tate’s ex-girlfriends and “baby mama” regarding her relationship with Tate. 

According to the witness, she dated Tate on-and-off for almost seven years and had children with him. 

Hannah Claudio, Green’s attorney, asked the witness about various protective orders she had filed against Tate between 2006 and 2009 and the incidents surrounding the documents. 

In court, with documents to refresh her memory, the witness told jurors of times Tate assaulted her. According to her, on May 25, 2006, Tate sexually assaulted her and put “hickeys” on her face and neck. When he found out she had called the Prince George’s County Police Department, Tate became upset and allegedly hit her, causing a black eye. She testified that her children were present at the time of the incident. 

“He was an excellent father,” said the witness, stating that although they had their differences, his parenting skills never waivered. 

She also recalled an incident in 2009 where Tate pushed her and sprained her ankle. According to the witness, Tate dismantled her car because he was upset she was going out with friends to celebrate her birthday. He became even more irate when he found out she called the police, going as far as hitting her, choking her, and threatening to hurt and kill her.

According to the witness, in another 2009 incident, Tate went to the witness’ job uninvited, which was in a secure government building, yelled at her, broke her phone, stole her keys, phone, and other belongings, and threatened to hold her and other individuals on her floor hostage before leaving. When officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) showed up, she alerted them of what had happened and told them he took some of her belongings. The MPD officers at the scene called Tate’s father, who was a police officer, to try to get Tate to bring back the belongings. 

During the government’s cross examination, the witness told the court she and Tate had broken up for good in 2007 but maintained cordial contact as they tried to co-parent. She stated that, although things did become physical between them, Tate never used a weapon to assault her, and she never feared for her life when she was around him. 

Following the witness’ testimony, the defense rested their case.

As part of their rebuttal, prosecutors called forth a MPD detective to testify regarding Green’s failure to file police reports, protection orders, and restraining orders against Tate as she allegedly experienced domestic violence issues. 

According to the detective, Green never filed any reports against Tate, and never called 911 when any of the alleged domestic violence incidents occurred. 

Kevann Gardner, Green’s defense attorney, questioned the detective regarding the likelihood that women would report domestic violence incidents.

“Detective, you know there’s many reasons why domestic violence victims don’t report these incidents, correct?” Gardner said. The detective agreed that domestic violence victims will sometimes not report the incidents. 

During closing arguments, both sides recapitulated many of the same themes they introduced at trial. 

Gardner challenged the 10-women, two-man jury panel to come up with enough evidence to show that Green’s actions met the high-bar of being guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt.  

He painted a picture of an abused woman who on the night of the incident tried to fight off Tate as he grabbed Green by the hair, punched her in the head and “wrapped his hands tighter and tighter around her neck.  She thought she was going to die.”

Gardner said Green never intended to kill Tate; she just “wanted to make it stop.”  As in the trial, Gardner asked the jury to consider Tate’s pattern of violent encounters with women and that Green was the latest victim. 

In a moment of courtroom drama, Gardner displayed a car jack that he said Tate used to break the car windows of a former girlfriend traumatizing her–an incident captured on police bodycam video. 

Originally, Green said she was the victim of a robbery and that Tate was shot in the attack, a story she told MPD officers investigating the case and that she claimed to call for help.  

However, that story unraveled as contradictions in Green’s version of events became apparent in her cell phone records and texts.

Gardner contended that Green became “frazzled and frantic” after the shooting and was not about to confess to the crime.  He said part of her reluctance to tell the truth was, again, that Tate’s parents are police officers.

For its part, the prosecution made the obvious point that they “couldn’t call the best witness, BJ, because he was killed.”  They say Green’s account of the shooting was a “fairy tale.”

Green, says the prosecution knowingly and voluntarily, “used her gun and shot twice.”  Her actions were not self-defense, rather she was angry at Tate about a broken promise to take her nephew to buy ice cream, and unhappy with their seven-year relationship.  

In the end, the prosecution says, “She didn’t care what happened to BJ.”

Based on testimony from the medical examiner about the damage to Tate’s body and his position after the shooting, prosecutors say he couldn’t have tried to strangle Green.

An unanswered question in the case is what happened to the murder weapon which was never recovered, although bullet casings were found in the apartment linked to an “unknown” gun.  Tate was believed to have guns.

Gardner warned the jury not to be misled by the long list of experts called by the prosecution, which he called a “distraction.”  

Jury deliberations in the case are expected to begin on Aug. 21.