Operation Shattered Shield: The NOPD’s Most Corrupt Era

In the early 1990s, New Orleans was known as the "Murder Capital of America," but the most dangerous criminals weren't just on the streets—some were wearing badges. Today on This Feels Criminal, Tyrella and Nikita break down Operation Shattered Shield, the massive FBI sting that exposed deep-seated corruption within the NOPD. We follow the story of the Hardy Brothers, a violent drug syndicate protected by the very officers sworn to stop them. At the center of it all is Officer Len Davis, a man so feared he was nicknamed "The Desire Projects Terrorist." When 32-year-old mother Kim Groves filed a brutality complaint against him, she had no idea she was signing her own death warrant. In this episode, we discuss: The Hardy Boys: How Wayne and Paul Hardy built a drug empire with help from inside the police department. The FBI Sting: How an undercover agent posing as a Miami dealer caught NOPD officers guarding shipments of cocaine. The Betrayal of Kim Groves: The heartbreaking story of a mother who stood up for her community and the chilling moment her murder was caught on an FBI wire. The Aftermath: The fallout of the 2012 DOJ consent decree and the quest for reform in New Orleans. Want access to our first 45 episodes? Grab em here! We've made them available for free to anyone who signs up! Remember, these episodes were recorded when we had no idea what we were doing, so just keep that in mind. The audio isn't the quality we would want to put out now, but the cases are on point! Visit killerqueens.link/og to download and binge all the archived episodes today! Hang with us:

You can listen to Operation Shattered Shield: The NOPD’s Most Corrupt Era online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Operation Shattered Shield: The NOPD’s Most Corrupt Era is an episode from Killer Queens: A True Crime Podcast by Killer Queens: A True Crime Podcast.

This episode is 52:18 long.

This episode was published on Mar 31, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Killer Queens: A True Crime Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.