[4] On November 19, 1986, nine New York City police officers, with nearly 20 outside the building, raided the Bronx apartment of Davis's sister.
[5] After tireless negotiations that lasted all night long, Davis was eventually convinced that the police officers would not shoot him because of all the media presence, so he then decided that it was time for him to surrender peacefully.
[2] Then, in November, as to the nine raiding and six shot officers, his acquittal of aggravated assault and attempted murder triggered widespread outrage.
[11] Serving five to 15 years on the November 1988 convictions for illegal gun possession, Davis was acquitted of another alleged drug dealer's murder.
"[3][13] But particularly with the Mollen Commission's 1990s exposure of widespread criminality, including drug dealing and violence, by New York City police officers,[14] and then a 2003 independent documentary favoring Davis's explanation, his story continues to provoke divided reactions.
[19] Soon after the successful manhunt, the Bronx District Attorney's office alleged that, as The New York Times then paraphrased, "Davis was part of a small, loosely organized, 'very violent' group of gunmen who have robbed, assaulted and slain drug dealers in the Bronx and northern Manhattan in recent months".
[20] Approaching trial, the district attorney's office had one witness outside of law enforcement: Roy L. Gray, who admitted under oath to steering "traffic to coke spots.
[21] In early November, acting on a tip, police sought Davis but failed to find him at his sister's apartment at 1231 Fulton Avenue in the Bronx's Morrisania section.
"[21] At some point, a senior police official argued that "once you move to introduce an accusatory instrument, you lose the benefit of being able to talk to that person.
[18] Interviewed the next day, Regina Lewis reportedly once she answered a door knock, the police entered the living room with guns drawn, ordered the adults to get the children out, and called, "Come out, Larry, you don't have a chance—we've got you surrounded."
The jury believed the events presented by the defense, in which an officer entered the apartment with a shotgun and fired at Davis, while he was seated behind a desk holding his baby.
Police stakeouts were set up at terminals, bridges and tunnels leading out of the city and a nationwide alarm was issued.
On the afternoon of December 5, 1986, police received another tip that Davis had been seen entering the Bronx housing project where his sister Margaret lived.
At some point during the day, Davis forced his way at gunpoint into Apartment 14-EB, where Elroy and Sophia Sewer lived with their two daughters, just as neighbor Theresa Ali, and her 2-year-old son, arrived for a visit.
He also ordered Mr. Sewer to call Mr. Davis' mother's and sister's tapped telephones and give false location information.
When the husband returned with the food he was stopped for questioning by the police and, at 12:45 a.m., informed them that his wife and two daughters were being held hostage by Mr.
"[26] To assure Davis that he would not be harmed, police showed him the press credentials of three reporters in a nearby apartment and allowed him to speak to his girlfriend.
[27] They contended Davis had been recruited into a drug ring by rogue police officers, aiming to kill him in the raid.
The judge ruled that the defense, likewise abusing peremptory challenges, had excluded white jurors on racial reasoning.
[28] A second mistrial was declared, at the request of both sides, once the new jury's only white member expressed concern that acquitting Davis would subject him to harassment by police.
[30] The defense implicated that McCarren, carrying a shotgun, had fired first, missing Davis but putting the slug in the dresser drawer.
McCarren countered that he had earlier given his shotgun to a detective assigned to cover the building's rear, and himself had only a 38-caliber revolver while entering the apartment.
[30] In any case, the defense contended that Davis, knowing that police officers sought to kill him, shot in self-defense.
[17] On November 20, 1988, after deliberating 38 hours over five days, the jury acquitted Davis of all charges, except six counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
"[31] McCarren, most seriously wounded, forced into retirement, called it "a racist verdict," and added, "The day this happened, a bunch of good honest police officers went to lock up Larry Davis because he had killed people, and not for anything else."
Allegedly, Eddie and Larry, along with two others, attempting robbery at a Webster Avenue apartment, shot through the door, killing Vizcaino.
Once sentenced, creating a loud scene until the judge expelled him, Davis spoke for about an hour, airing again his longstanding complaint that the police and the judicial system were conducting a vendetta against him.
When the officer went to break it up, he found Davis using his walking cane to fend off an inmate from attacking him with a 9-inch (23 cm) long metal shiv.
Not being a trauma level infirmary, the supervising nurse called for an emergency transport by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital in nearby Newburgh, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
After his arrest, Rosado was moved to Clinton Correctional Facility, located in upstate New York close to the Canadian border.