Len Davis

Len Davis (born August 6, 1964)[5] is a former New Orleans police officer.[6][7] He was convicted of depriving civil rights through murder by conspiring with an assassin to kill a local resident.[8]

Len Davis
Born (1964-08-06) August 6, 1964
Occupationformer Police officer, New Orleans Police Department
Criminal statusIncarcerated at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute[1]
Conviction(s)Conspiracy against rights, Deprivation of rights under color of law[2]
Criminal chargeConspiracy against rights, Witness tampering, Deprivation of rights under color of law[3]
PenaltyDeath sentence [4] (October 27, 2005 (2005-10-27))

Police career

Davis was known in the community as "Robocop" due to his large size and the "Desire terrorist" due to his aggressive policing style.[9] He had a reputation as both a good and bad cop. He had been suspended six times and received 20 complaints between 1987 and 1992 while subsequently receiving the department's Medal of Merit in 1993.[10]

Due to significant corruption within the New Orleans police department, the FBI had set up a sting in 1994, catching Davis in a cocaine protection operation.[11][12] Davis had come to the attention of federal investigators for extorting bribes and offering protection to a drug dealer who was a federal informant.[13] Nine other police officers, including two who would later testify against Davis, were indicted in the cocaine operation.[14][15] Twenty additional officers were implicated in the scheme but the investigation had to be aborted with the murder of Kim Groves.[14] Davis would later be convicted of additional drug-related charges while the other officers pleaded guilty.[12]

Murder of Kim Groves

In 1994, Davis beat a young man in New Orleans, mistaking him for a suspect in a police officer's shooting.[16] Kim Groves, a 32-year old local resident and mother of three young children, witnessed the assault and filed a complaint with the New Orleans police department.[17] Davis was tipped off about the complaint by another officer and then conspired with a local drug dealer, Paul Hardy, to retaliate.[18] Hardy shot and killed her on October 14, 1994, less than one day after she filed the complaint. A third man, Damon Causey, hid the murder weapon, a 9 mm pistol.[19]

Trial and conviction

Davis was convicted in 1996 on two federal civil rights charges for directing Hardy to murder Groves and for witness tampering. Davis was initially sentenced to death on April 26, 1996. The 5th Circuit, however, reversed his death sentence when his conviction for witness tampering was thrown out. A subsequent jury also chose the death penalty for Davis, and he was formally sentenced to death again on October 27, 2005.[20][21][22] Davis is currently on federal death row and is imprisoned in United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, Indiana.[23]

Hardy was convicted of conspiracy to violate Groves' civil rights and of witness tampering.[24] The witness tampering conviction would be later overturned.[25] He was initially sentenced to death, but in 2011 his sentence was commuted to life when he was found by a judge to be mentally retarded.[26]

Causey was convicted of federal conspiracy charges and violating Groves' civil rights.[27] He was sentenced to life imprisonment after rejecting a plea bargain that instead would have sentenced him to prison for six to nine years.[19] His conviction was upheld on appeal.[28]

Aftermath and later developments

In 2018, the city of New Orleans settled a lawsuit with Groves' three children in the sum of $1.5 million.[17]

See also

References
  1. "FEDERAL INMATES". The Oklahoman. July 14, 1999. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  2. "United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Damon Causey, Defendant-appellant.united States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Paul Hardy, Also Known As P, Also Known As Cool; and Len Davis, Defendants-appellants, 185 F.3d 407 (5th Cir. 1999)". Retrieved October 17, 2018. Davis and Hardy were convicted on all three counts
  3. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LEN DAVIS". Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  4. "Len Davis sentenced to death for murder of Kim Groves". April 27, 1996. Retrieved October 17, 2018. ...sentenced to death Friday, after jurors spent just 30 minutes deliberating his fate...
  5. "Baumgartner Death Sentences 22 Sept 2019". Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  6. "Len Davis sentenced to death for murder of Kim Groves". The Times-Picayune. April 27, 1996. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  7. "Officer Len Davis, two others, charged in death of Kim Groves". The Times-Picayune. December 6, 1994. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  8. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LEN DAVIS". Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  9. Stacy Dittrich (2010). Murder Behind the Badge: True Stories of Cops Who Kill. Prometheus Books, Publishers. pp. 339–. ISBN 978-1-61614-053-3.
  10. "Law & Disorder - Timeline: NOPD's Long History of Scandal". FRONTLINE. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2018-10-18. He was Robocop to some people, historian Leonard Moore tells FRONTLINE. But then he was, I would say, Officer Friendly to other people
  11. "IN THE BIG EASY, SCANDAL IN BLUE". Washington Post. January 3, 1995. Retrieved October 18, 2018. This is a city where 40 police officers have been arrested in the last three years on charges ranging from bank robbery to rape, from bribery to auto theft
  12. "Len Davis convicted of running cocaine protection racket". NOLA.com. September 13, 1996. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  13. "Len Davis, eight other New Orleans police officers, charged in drug sting". NOLA.com. December 8, 1994. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  14. The Associated Press (December 8, 1994). "9 New Orleans Police Officers Are Indicted in U.S. Drug Case". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  15. "Len Davis convicted of running cocaine protection racket". NOLA.com. 1996-09-14. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
  16. "A murder 20 years ago marked low point for NOPD". The Advocate. Oct 15, 2014. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
  17. Lane, Emily (April 25, 2018). "City to pay $1.5M to Kim Groves' children, 24 years after NOPD officer had her killed". Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  18. "Len Davis sentenced to death for murder of Kim Groves". NOLA.com. 1996-04-28. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  19. "Len Davis, triggerman convicted of capital murder in death of Kim Groves". NOLA.com. 1996-04-26. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  20. "Murderous ex-NOPD officer Len Davis wants federal judge back". The Times-Picayune. December 29, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  21. "Jury Sentences Killer Cop to Death". Fox News. August 9, 2005. Retrieved February 14, 2019. A federal judge will formally impose the sentence later.
  22. "FindLaw's United States Fifth Circuit case and opinions". Findlaw. March 31, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2019. The district court sentenced Davis to death on October 27, 2005.
  23. "Murderous ex-cop has no fool for a client: An editorial". The Times-Picayune. July 6, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  24. "Len Davis, Petitioner v. United States of America" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. April 19, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  25. Gill, James (June 1, 2012). "Murderous ex-cop has no fool for a client: An editorial". NOLA.com. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  26. "Hit man who killed Kim Groves in 1994 is sentenced to life in prison". The Times-Picayune. December 21, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  27. "United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Damon Causey, Defendant-appellant.united States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Paul Hardy, Also Known As P, Also Known As Cool; and Len Davis, Defendants-appellants, 185 F.3d 407 (5th Cir. 1999)". Justia Law. January 12, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  28. "UNITED STATES v. CAUSEY". Findlaw. March 31, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019.

Further reading
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