Ex-Detroit cop will serve probation for killing attorney Cliff Woodards in a car crash

A former Detroit cop who killed prominent attorney and radio personality Cliff Woodards II in a car crash pleaded no contest to willful neglect of duty on Monday.

Teaira Iris Funderburg, 31, was on duty in a patrol car on Feb. 8, 2021, when she sped through a red light and slammed into a car driven by Woodards at the intersection of West Chicago Road and Jeffries Service Drive. She was responding to another officer in a nonemergency call.

Woodards, a popular 58-year-old defense attorney and radio host on 910AM Superstation, was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Funderburg’s no contest plea is not an admission of guilty but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

In a plea agreement with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Funderburg will resign her law enforcement certification, serve one year of probation, complete 100 hours of community service, and pay financial penalties set by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Judge Shannon Walker.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 30.

In June 2021, prosecutors charged Funderburg with involuntary manslaughter, a felony that carries up to 15 years in prison.

Woodard’s daughter, Melissa Connelly, is suing Funderburg and the city of Detroit for $50 million for wrongful death.

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