Case Acquitted: Police Interview with Murder Suspect Raises Questions of Cover-up

By Jaclyn Sersland [former] - August 11, 2023
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

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

On Aug. 10, prosecutors showed footage of a defendant they say was trying to cover up a homicide in an interview with detectives. 

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

Bryan Tate Jr., 37, was shot three times in the shoulder and hip. He died from his injuries. Defense attorneys say Green was acting in self-defense during a physical altercation with Tate. 

Prosecutors continued their attempt to prove Green’s guilt by having a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Homicide Sergeant Detective testify about her interaction with Green on Feb. 21, 2020 following Tate’s death. 

During her testimony, prosecutors played a video of two other MPD detectives interviewing Green.

According to the witness, she was watching the interview from another room. The witness said no signs of abuse were visible on Green at the time of the interview because she was wearing a coat and long pants. 

According to court documents, Green told detectives that she was babysitting her nephew in Tate’s apartment when a burglar broke in and shot Tate. 

In the video, Green can be heard telling officers that she told Tate, “Just stay right here, I’m gonna go get help. I’m gonna get an ambulance. ” That was before leaving with her nephew and locking Tate inside the apartment so no one could come back in and “finish the job.” 

According to court documents, Green had called 911 after leaving the apartment and also called her nephew’s mother to pick him up. Afterwards, she told detectives her phone had died and she stopped a man in his car to use his phone and try to find out the hospital where Tate was taken.

According to court documents, Green’s story left the detectives with many questions about why she left Tate alone in the apartment and what she was doing alone outside in Southeast DC on a freezing night.

“This story makes no sense,” an MPD detective could be heard saying in the surveillance footage of the interview. 

Defense attorneys argued that Green covered up the homicide because Tate’s parents were both police officers and Green didn’t think the police would protect her or provide justice. 

The video shows a detective telling Green “My responsibility is to Bryan’s family.” 

In the video, Green is crying and saying “I’m scared for my life,” and “I have no one on my side.” 

The trial is set to resume on Aug. 11.