Larry Davis (New York)

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Larry Davis (born May 28, 1966 in New York City , † February 20, 2008 in Shawangunk Correctional Facility , Ulster County , New York ; later Adam Abdul-Hakeem ) was a criminal in New York who became known when he was born on March 19 , 2008 November 1986 shot and killed six New York City Police Department officers in a raid . He was acquitted of attempted murder after a spectacular trial. He was later arrested for another murder and was killed while in custody. His act aroused public interest, especially because of the increased levels of police brutality in the period before the shooting. Accordingly, he was hailed as a hero by some, while others were appalled that he had got away with it.

background

Davis grew up in the Bronx as the youngest of 15 siblings . He moved in a petty criminal milieu and at the age of 20 already had a considerable criminal record that went back to 1983. He violated his parole in 1984. The police were looking for him for involvement in seven different murders. He and a group of other men robbed and executed several drug dealers. In the days before the raid, he avoided his apartment and stayed with his girlfriend and two of his sisters.

Raid and subsequent search

According to a tip, a raid on the two apartments of Davies' sisters was scheduled for November 19, 1986. Twenty-seven officers from the New York City Police Department and the Emergency Service Unit were present. At 8:30 a.m., 15 officers surrounded the building complex and 12 stormed the building. Of these, nine entered Davis' sister's apartment, where Davis was also his girlfriend, sister and her husband, and four children. The police entered the apartment through the front door and had the adults take some of the children out. They then asked Davis to face him, who was in the back bedroom with two other children who were still sleeping. It is unclear who opened fire first. In any case, a gun battle broke out, with Davis injuring six police officers, two seriously, with a sawed-off shotgun and a Colt M1911 . Davis and the two children were unharmed. He used the subsequent confusion to flee through a window. After the wounded officers were taken to the nearby Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center , the manhunt for Davis began. Both the roadblocks and the search of the surrounding area were unsuccessful. The search was then extended to Chicago , Albany and Newark , where Davis had contacts. $ 15,000 was set aside for the capture of Davis. The search also brought free riders to the scene. So a man called ABC-TV pretending to be Davis.

On December 5, 1986, the police ransacked his mother's home and interrogated her. His mother had a heart attack shortly thereafter , from which she did not recover until three days later. On the same day, it was announced that Davis would be hiding in a housing project in the Bronx. In fact, Davis had barricaded himself there and held a family hostage. Police besieged the apartment and kept in touch with Davis, who threatened to kill the hostages. Finally, around 7 p.m., Davis gave up and turned himself in to the police. When he was taken away in handcuffs, he is said to have received applause from local residents. They also called his name and cheered him on.

Court hearing

At the beginning of Davis's trials, which dragged on for over four years, the prosecution had a long list of crimes he was charged with, including illegal possession of guns, drug dealer murders, attempted police murder, kidnapping, and car theft. The jury only found him guilty of illegal gun possession. The jury saw it as proven that Larry Davis was afraid for his life during the raid and acted in self-defense. This was also justified with corrupt police officers who wanted to execute him. He was sentenced to five to 15 years' imprisonment for gun possession. In the case of the drug dealers who were killed, he was acquitted six out of seven cases, but found guilty of the murder of Raymond Vizcaino in 1991 after a four-year trial. He had committed the crime jointly with his brother Eddie Davis. His sentence was then extended by 25 years. The verdict was followed by an hour-long monologue in which Davis complained about the US judicial system and spoke of a vendetta against him.

death

Davis served his time at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County, New York. On February 20, 2008, a dispute broke out in the prison yard, as a result of which Davis was attacked several times with a self-made metal knife and was critically injured. He was taken by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital in Newburgh , where doctors could only determine that he was dead. Davis' fellow inmate Luis Rosado was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison for the murder.

reception

The case spread quickly to the US public and stuck in the minds of New Yorkers in particular. However, Davis was stylized as a "cop killer", although none of the wounded police officers died from his injuries. A police officer lost an eye, while a woman can only return to work today thanks to massive surgical interventions. Fun Lovin 'Criminals released the song The Ballad of Larry Davis as the B-side of their single Korean Bodega in 1994 . They also assumed that six police officers were killed. Killer Mike released the song Don't Die on his album RAP Music in 2012 , which deals with police brutality and relates to Davis' case.

Davis' case has been the subject of several documentaries. He was interviewed for the documentary The Larry Davis Story: A Routine Typical Hit . BET released an episode of their American Gangster series in 2008 that focused on Davis. A new interview with Davis was scheduled for this episode and should have taken place on the day of his murder. The spectacular search was part of the 2010 television series Fugitive Chronicles .

Sidney Lumet processed the case in his film Night Over Manhattan , which is based on the novel " Tainted Evidence " by Robert Daley .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Howard W. French: New Picture Emerges in Case of Larry Davis. In: The New York Times . October 18, 1987, accessed February 22, 2008 .
  2. ↑ Todd S. Purdum: Friends helped Davis to stay in shadow. In: The New York Times . December 7, 1986, accessed December 16, 2007 .
  3. ^ A b c Robert D. McFadden: Cornered in manhunt, Davis surrenders in Bronx. In: The New York Times . December 7, 1986, accessed December 16, 2007 .
  4. ^ Robert D. McFadden: Slain in Prison, but Once Celebrated as a Fugitive. In: The New York Times . February 22, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2008 .
  5. ^ Samuel G. Freedman: To some, Davis is a 'hero' amid attacks on blacks. In: The New York Times . January 2, 1987, accessed February 23, 2008 .
  6. ^ A b c Robert D. McFadden: New York Police in Citywide Hunt for Gunman Who Shot 6 Officers. In: The New York Times . November 21, 1986, accessed December 19, 2007 .
  7. ^ Robert D. McFadden: Davis cited as a member of violent assault gang. In: The New York Times . December 9, 1986, accessed December 29, 2007 .
  8. ↑ Template error: The title parameter is required. 
  9. ^ A b Robert D. McFadden: Hunt grows for suspect in shooting. In: The New York Times . November 22, 1986. Retrieved December 27, 2007 .
  10. ↑ Philip S. Gutis: On the 14th floor, siege ends in quiet talk. In: The New York Times . December 7, 1986, accessed December 27, 2007 .
  11. ↑ Sam Howe Verhovek: Larry Davis Cleared In the 1986 Slayings Of 4 Drug Suspects. In: The New York Times . March 4, 1988, Retrieved December 16, 2007 .
  12. ↑ Sam Howe Verhovek: Davis Juror Defends Verdict and Ward Assails It. In: The New York Times . November 22, 1988. Retrieved December 20, 2007 .
  13. ↑ Craig Wolff: Defiant Larry Davis Gets 25 Years to Life in Killing. In: The New York Times . April 26, 1991, accessed December 23, 2007 .
  14. ↑ Sarah Garland: Man Arraigned in Killing of Police Shooter. In: New York Sun . February 21, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2008 .
  15. ^ Bronx man pleads guilty to stabbing death of notorious prisoner , Times Herald-Record , February 25, 2009
  16. ↑ Michelle Malkin: The cop-killing cult of Larry Davis. In: New York Post . December 12, 2014, accessed July 19, 2015 .
  17. ↑ The Larry Davis Story: A Routine Typical Hit. Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved July 19, 2015 .
  18. ↑ American Gangster, S03E01 in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  19. ↑ David Hinckley: A & E's' Fugitive Chronicles' starts well with Ralph 'Bucky' Phillips' charming cop evasion. In: Daily News . April 2, 2010, accessed May 28, 2010 .
personal data
SURNAME Davis, Larry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abdul-Hakeem, Adam
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American criminal
DATE OF BIRTH May 28, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH February 20, 2008
Place of death Shawangunk Correctional Facility, New York