European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday december 19, 1994 . The stars and stripes Page 5 pop ice m u re e r off a i r s Hocks scandal weary new Orleans " -.". New Orleans a warning signs had Bee there for years underpaid officers working in a faction Ridden department crumbling under a shrinking budget and indifference to corruption. Police were arrested for bribery Bank robbery and rape. ". /"., " then videotapes and transcripts of conversations secretly recorded by the Fri unearthed information that shocked even the most cynical new Orleans citizens a police officer allegedly ordering the murder of a woman who had lodged a brutality complaint against him. On top of that the Fri said the officer was the ring Leader among nine officers who watched Over a drug distribution operation. The drug ring however was fake Asting set up by Federal agents investigating a complaint of police Shakedown. For lawyer Mary Howell a longtime police depart ment critic who has represented police brutality victims the corruption arrests dec. 7 were business As usual but the oct. 13 killing of Kim Groves allegedly at the hands of a police officer has pushed police problems into another realm. -. A. ,. Vav i be talked to other attorneys around the country and none of us can come up with another Case of a witness who made a report against a police officer and then was killed by the police officer Howell said. Any person who live sin this Community is in danger. And for the honest police officers who have seen this go on for years they have no where to  officer left Davis and two other men have been accused of Federal civil rights violations in Groves death. Davis and eight other officers face Federal firearms and drug charges. Groves was shot in the head a Day after she filed complaint against Davis alleging she saw him Pisto whip Ping a teen Ager. No state charges have been filed. The Fri and the . Attorney s office when asked Why they had not yet Consul Ted with the local District attorney refused to comment. The Fri said the murder Case halted the Agency s drug investigation with at least 20 other officers under suspicion. The Fri has since confirmed that it s checking other slayings to see if police were involved. It is not the last set of arrests. It is the first said Rafael Goyeneche executive director of the metropolitan crime commission a private watchdog group. It is a Public indication of the extent and breadth of the corruption problem in the new Orleans police  critics have warned for years of pending disaster within the 1,500-Pfficer Force. The signs included a salary scale starting at $15,600 a year a department torn by politics and Given to infighting because the mayor not the chief appointed the Deputy chiefs a budget so eroded that two and three officers were forced to ride in each patrol car because so Many were broken and an internal affairs department accused of ignoring citizen complaints. A Federal source said the new Orleans Force had been tagged for a Long time As one of the bad  r i s i Jav -. A to \ vv-4./