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Michigan man sues police for jailing him on rape charges despite evidence clearing him

By Ray Downs

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- A Michigan man cleared of rape charges after DNA evidence proved his innocence has sued the Grand Rapids police who arrested him for violating his civil rights.

Xavier Jajuan Davis, 32, was arrested in January for sexually assaulting two women, including one at gunpoint. The only evidence police had before taking him into custody was a police sketch of a black man, which Davis said did not look like him.

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"I'm telling them, 'You have the wrong person. There's gotta be a mistake. You guys are making a mistake,'" Davis told MLive.

But police put him in jail and kept him there even after cell phone and Uber records that indicated he was not at the scene in March, WOOD-TV reported. And DNA evidence that proved the suspect was somebody else was still not enough to convince police to release Davis, according to the lawsuit.

Davis spent 129 days in jail before he was released. During that time, he was assaulted in jail, lost two jobs and his home. When he was finally released, he was homeless.

Davis' mugshot was also published by local media outlets, naming him as the suspect in the violent sexual assaults.

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"When the judge signed the PR bond, I was overwhelmed with excitement but at the same time I was nervous, what are people gonna think, what are people gonna say," Davis said.

Davis is suing the City of Grand Rapids and three investigators in the Grand Rapids Police Department for unlawful imprisonment, arrest and prosecution.

Grand Rapids officials have not commented on the lawsuit.

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