Kevin Davis (police officer)

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Kevin Davis
Davis in 2024
Chief of the Fairfax County Police Department
Assumed office
May 3, 2021
Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department
In office
July 8, 2015[a] – January 19, 2018
Preceded byAnthony Batts
Succeeded byDarryl D. De Sousa
Chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department
In office
July 12, 2013 – December 1, 2014
Chief of the Prince George's County Police Department
In office
2009–2012
Personal details
Born1968 or 1969 (age 54–55)
College Park, Maryland
Children4
Education
Police career
Department
Service years1992–present
a. ^ Acting until October 19, 2015

Kevin Davis (born 1968 or 1969)[1] is an American police officer. After joining the Prince George's County Police Department in 1992, he served as the chief of the Prince George's County Police Department and Anne Arundel County Police Department from 2009 to 2012 and 2013 to 2014, respectively. After resigning as the chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, he became the commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department in 2015, selected by then-Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to replace Anthony Batts. He served as the commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department until his departure in January 2018 as crime rates increased. Three years later, in 2021, he was named the chief of the Fairfax County Police Department.

Early life[edit]

Davis was born in College Park, Maryland, around 1968 or 1969.[1][2] His grandfather and great-grandfather served as high-ranked firefighters of the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, and his father worked as a Prince George's County Police Department police officer.[3] He graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's national academy and executive institute.[2] Davis has received a bachelor's degree in English from Towson University[3] and a master's degree in management from Johns Hopkins University.[2][4]

Police career[edit]

Kevin Davis, then-commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, poses at an event in 2016.
Davis at a National Night Out event in 2016
Kevin Davis, then-commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, speaks in uniform reporting the results of an operation at a United States government building.
Davis speaking at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in 2016

Davis first served as a Prince George's County Police Department patrol officer in 1992, before being promoted as the police chief in 2009.[3][5] In 2012, under police chief Davis, the Prince George's County Police Department recorded one of its lowest homicide rates since 1986.[3] He then became the police chief for the Anne Arundel County Police Department a year later before resigning in December 2014.[5][6]

In January 2015, Davis became the deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, serving under commissioner Anthony Batts.[7] On July 8 that year, then-Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake replaced Batts with Davis as the interim commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department.[8][9] The Baltimore City Council voted in favor for Davis to officially become commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department on October 19, 2015, with Davis having acted as the commissioner since the firing of Batts.[10][11] However, several hours later, protestors occupied Baltimore City Hall in protest of the appointment of Davis as the commissioner of the city's law enforcement agency, which resulted in the arrest of 16 protestors.[12][13]

In 2016, 300 homicides were recorded in Baltimore, a slight decrease in homicides from the previous year, but Davis responded "we're still not where we want to be".[14] However, a year later, the homicide rate increased to 343 deaths, which was recorded as the highest rate of yearly homicides ever in Baltimore.[15] As a result, on January 19, 2018, Davis was fired and replaced with Darryl D. De Sousa as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department by Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh, with Pugh stating that she was "impatient" with Davis regarding increasing crime rates in the city.[16][17][18] Davis later stated that serving as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department was an "honor of his lifetime".[19]

On April 23, 2021, Davis was named as the police chief of the Fairfax County Police Department, first serving on May 3.[20][21] However, on May 26, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee called for Davis to be fired as the police chief of the Fairfax County Police Department after concerns over his law enforcement history.[22] Despite this, Davis continued to serve as the police chief of the law enforcement agency, although certain types of crime, including domestic violence and motor vehicle theft, rose during Davis' tenure.[23] Davis, along with the Fairfax County Police Department, also faced a staffing shortage in 2022, prompting Davis to declare a staffing emergency in July that year.[24][25] He later announced a plan to hire additional officers and to modernize the law enforcement agency.[26] Thereafter, in 2023, a record number of new recruits were admitted into the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy.[27]

In 2023, Davis was involved in several controversies. In April, Davis announced a ban on virtual, recorded meetings in September that year in all districts of Fairfax County, Virginia. This prompted Bob Sledzaus, chairman of the Reston Community Advisory Committee, to resign, stating "this, however, remains simply a premise — unsubstantiated, despite repeated requests for substantiation".[28] In October, the Fairfax County NAACP condemned Davis for ignoring increasing gun-related deaths and racial inequality.[29]

In March 2024, Davis accused Herndon, Virginia, police chief Maggie DeBoard of racism after confronting her over an issue involving the city's police graduation certificates being signed in non-English, which resulted in DeBoard requesting a reissue of the certificates to be signed in English instead. Shortly after, DeBoard described Davis's accusation as "inappropriate".[30]

Personal life[edit]

Davis is married to his wife, Lisa. They have four children together.[2] In 2019, Davis was selected to receive a fellowship by the Open Society Foundations, later being named as the government fellow in the foundation network.[31][32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Zellers, Zoe (July 8, 2015). "Bio box: Kevin Davis, interim Baltimore police commissioner". WBFF. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Khan, Saliqa (July 9, 2015). "Meet Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis". WBAL-TV. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Thompson, Meredith (August 21, 2013). "County Executive Appoints Kevin Davis Anne Arundel's Chief Of Police". Pasadena Voice. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Handore, Pratik (May 3, 2022). "Is Kevin Davis Based on a Real Person? Where is He Now?". The Cinemaholic. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Who Is Baltimore's Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis?". CBS Baltimore. July 9, 2015. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  6. ^ "New Anne Arundel police chief sworn in". WBAL-TV. July 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  7. ^ Khan, Saliqa (January 21, 2015). "Former AA Co. police chief heads to Baltimore". WBAL-TV. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  8. ^ Wells, Jason (July 8, 2015). "Meet Baltimore's New Top Cop Tasked With Stopping A Surge In Violence". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  9. ^ Cassie, Ron (October 20, 2015). "Kevin Davis Confirmed as New City Police Chief". Baltimore Magazine. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  10. ^ Pearson, Michael (October 19, 2015). "Baltimore police commissioner gets permanent post". CNN. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (October 19, 2015). "Kevin Davis Is Sworn In as Chief of Baltimore Police". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  12. ^ Campbell, Colin; Rector, Kevin (October 15, 2015). "Protesters occupy City Hall after Kevin Davis' appointment hearing". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "Protestors Downtown After Confirmation Of City Police Comm. Kevin Davis". CBS Baltimore. October 19, 2015. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Linderman, Juliet (December 13, 2016). "Baltimore hits 300 homicides for the year". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Baltimore police commissioner Kevin Davis replaced by mayor amid record murder rate". NBC News. January 19, 2018. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  16. ^ Rector, Kevin (January 19, 2018). "Baltimore Police commissioner Kevin Davis fired by Mayor Pugh, citing rising crime". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  17. ^ Oppel Jr., Richard A.; Bromwich, Jonah Engel (January 19, 2018). "Baltimore Fires Another Police Commissioner, After Record High Murder Rate". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  18. ^ Khan, Saliqa A.; Collins, David; Miller, Jayne; Robinson, Lisa (January 20, 2018). "Baltimore mayor fires police commissioner, citing need to reduce violence". WBAL-TV. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  19. ^ Andersen, Kelly (June 4, 2018). "Ex-BPD commissioner Kevin Davis speaks out for first time since his firing". WBFF. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Jouvendal, Justin (April 23, 2021). "Fairfax County taps former Baltimore chief to be next police leader". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  21. ^ O'Connell, Michael (May 4, 2021). "Shadow Of Lawsuits Hangs Over New Police Chief In Fairfax". Patch Media. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  22. ^ Taube, David (May 26, 2021). "Fairfax Dems Call for Chief Davis to Be Fired". Reston Now. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  23. ^ Massimo, Rick (May 4, 2022). "1 year into new job, Fairfax Co. police chief talks reform". WTOP-FM. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  24. ^ Minock, Nick (July 28, 2021). "Fairfax County police chief declares personnel emergency amid staff shortage". WJLA-TV. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  25. ^ Minock, Nick (August 3, 2022). "Fairfax Co. Police Chief Kevin Davis speaks to 7News after announcing a staffing emergency". WJLA-TV. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  26. ^ Trompeter, Brian (November 23, 2021). "Fairfax police chief plans to hire more officers, modernize department". InsideNova. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  27. ^ O'Connell, Michael (August 29, 2023). "New Fairfax Police Academy Class 'Record-Breaking Size': Chief Davis". Patch Media. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  28. ^ O'Connell, Michael (June 2, 2023). "Fairfax Chief's Ban On Recording Causes Reston Leader To Resign". Patch Media. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  29. ^ Lewis, Tisha (October 3, 2023). "Fairfax County NAACP condemns police chief, claims department is ignoring community concerns". WTTG. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  30. ^ Bensen, Jackie (March 9, 2024). "Virginia chief requests police academy graduation certificates be re-signed in English". NBC4 Washington. Archived from the original on March 16, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  31. ^ Rector, Kevin (February 27, 2019). "Kevin Davis, former Baltimore police commissioner, writing book on police consent decrees". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  32. ^ Serpick, Evan (March 1, 2019). "Former BPD Commissioner Kevin Davis named Open Society Leadership in Government Fellow". Open Society Foundations. Archived from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
Police appointments
Preceded by Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department
2007-2012 		Succeeded by
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