Durham chief leaving to lead police in Memphis

Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis is leaving Durham after five years to take a similar role in Memphis, Tenn., the mayor there announced Monday.

Davis joined the Durham Police Department in June 2016 after a 28-year career in the Atlanta Police Department. Her resignation is effective June 11.

She will be the first woman to lead the Memphis Police Department.

Mayor Steve Schewel called the move "a capstone" for Davis' career in law enforcement but a bittersweet move for her and for Durham.

"This is a huge victory for the people of Memphis. This is a great loss, I believe, for the city of Durham," Durham City Councilman Mark-Anthony Middleton said. "Chief Davis is a part of the cadre of law enforcement leadership around the country that, I think, are going to be essential partners in revolutionizing policing, which I think needs to be done."

Schewel credited Davis with rebuilding trust between the police department and Durham residents, reducing over-policing in minority neighborhoods and expanding cooperation between the department and the Durham County Sheriff's Office.

"She’s made some great changes," Middleton agreed. "She was successful in translating Durham’s values and putting them into action, into police posture. When you think about things like her cessation of checkpoints, she ordered the department to stand down just stopping cars for minor equipment issues."

But her tenure in Durham also has been marked by a surge in gun violence. A record number of shootings were reported in the city last year, with 319, and Durham is on a similar pace this year.

Through April 10, 190 shootings have been reported in Durham, down slightly from the 201 reported at the same point in 2020. But more people have been shot – 61 to 59 – and more have been killed – 10 to six – already this year, according to police department statistics.

"The chief of police, she needed to be in the community more," said Susie Odom, whose son was killed in November 2019. "I have yet to see from the time my son got killed to now where she has come out and united with people."

Schewel said the increased number of shootings is a national phenomenon during the coronavirus pandemic and not something related to Durham.

"Chief Davis and her department have had to face that reality, just like chiefs all over the country have had ot face that reality, and I think she's done that well," he said. "Chief Davis has been very effective at fighting violent crime, and she's also been very effective at supporting the reforms in policing that we want to see here in Durham."

A national search will be conducted for her successor in Durham, which Schewel said could take several months. Someone from within the department will serve as interim chief while the search is being conducted, he said.

The mayor and Middleton said they're confident a new chief can be hired to build on Davis' successes.

"I want to be certain that the next police chief doesn’t oversee a retreat from the success as we’ve had, of this forward movement we’ve had, in terms of [decreasing] use of force, in terms of community policing, in terms of the morale of the department as well," Middleton said. "Crime was here before Chief Davis got here [and] ... we’re going to have a gun violence problem in this country after Chief Davis is gone."

Odom said Durham needs a strong police chief to combat gun violence.

"It’s going to be rough," she said. "They're going to need somebody that’s going to be strong for what’s going on in the city."

"We hope that the FOP and the rank-and-file officers will have some part in the selection process for the next police chief of Durham," the Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement. "The FOP stands ready to assist the new police chief of Durham in facing many challenges, including a significant staffing shortage and rising crime rate."