The defense implicated that McCarren, carrying a shotgun, had firing 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. In any case, the defense contended that Davis, knowing that police officers sought to kill him, shot in self-defense. They charged that police officers were corrupt and involved in the drug trade. Davis's mother testified that two weeks before the raid, a police officer had pushed her and threatened to kill him. She testified, further, that she had warned her son, and had complained to the police department's Civilian Complaint Review Board, which sustained her complaint.