Kevin Davis | |
---|---|
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 by | Anthony Batts |
Succeeded by | Darryl D. DeSousa |
Chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department | |
In office July 12, 2013 – December 1, 2014[1] | |
Chief of the Prince George's County Police Department | |
In office 2009–2012 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1968 or 1969 (age 54–55) College Park, Maryland |
Children | 4 |
Education | Johns Hopkins University |
a. ^ Acting until October 19, 2015 | |
Kevin Davis (born 1968 or 1969)[2] is an American police officer. He first served as the police chief of the Prince George's County Police Department and Anne Arundel County Police Department between 1992 and 2014. After resigning as the police chief of the latter law enforcement agency, he became the commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department in 2015, selected by then-Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to replace Anthony Batts.[3] 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 police chief of the Fairfax County Police Department.
Early life
Davis was born in College Park, Maryland.[4] 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 police officer of the Prince George's County Police Department.[5] He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute.[4] Davis received his master's degree from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in English from Towson University.[4][5]
Police career
Davis first served as a Prince George's County Police Department patrol officer in 1992, before being promoted as the police chief in 2009.[5][6] In 2012, under police chief Davis, the Prince George's County Police Department recorded one of its lowest homicide rates since 1986.[5] He then became the police chief for the Anne Arundel County Police Department a year later before resigning in December 2014.[6][7]
In January 2015, Davis became the deputy commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, serving under commissioner Anthony Batts.[8] On July 8 that year, then-Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake replaced Batts with Davis as the interim commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department.[9][10] On October 19, 2015, the Baltimore City Council voted in favor for Davis to officially become commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, having acted as the commissioner since the firing of Batts.[11][12] 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.[13][14]
In 2016, 300 homicides were recorded in Baltimore, in which Davis responded that "we're still not where we want to be", despite a slight decrease in homicides from the previous year.[15] However, a year later, the homicide rate increased to 343 deaths, which was recorded as the highest rate of yearly homicides ever in Baltimore.[16] As a result, on January 19, 2018, Davis was fired and replaced with Darryl D. DeSousa as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department by Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh, with Pugh stating that she was "impatient" with Davis that regarded increasing crime rates in the city.[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 controversial decisions he directed. 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 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]
Personal life
Davis is married to his wife, Lisa. They have four children together.[4] 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.[30][31]
References
- ^ Hedgpeth, Dana; Zauzmer, Julie (November 11, 2014). "Anne Arundel County police and fire chiefs to step down". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Zellers, Zoe (July 8, 2015). "Bio box: Kevin Davis, interim Baltimore police commissioner". WBFF. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Rector, Kevin (January 19, 2018). "Baltimore Police commissioner Kevin Davis fired by Mayor Pugh, citing rising crime". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Khan, Saliqa (July 9, 2015). "Meet Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis". WBAL-TV. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Thompson, Meredith (August 21, 2013). "County Executive Appoints Kevin Davis Anne Arundel's Chief Of Police". Pasadena Voice. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ a b "Who Is Baltimore's Interim Commissioner Kevin Davis?". CBS Baltimore. July 9, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ "New Anne Arundel police chief sworn in". WBAL-TV. July 16, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Khan, Saliqa (January 21, 2015). "Former AA Co. police chief heads to Baltimore". WBAL-TV. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Wells, Jason (July 8, 2015). "Meet Baltimore's New Top Cop Tasked With Stopping A Surge In Violence". BuzzFeed. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Cassie, Ron (October 20, 2015). "Kevin Davis Confirmed as New City Police Chief". Baltimore Magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Pearson, Michael (October 19, 2015). "Baltimore police commissioner gets permanent post". CNN. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Fandos, Nicholas (October 19, 2015). "Kevin Davis Is Sworn In as Chief of Baltimore Police". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Campbell, Colin; Rector, Kevin (October 15, 2015). "Protesters occupy City Hall after Kevin Davis' appointment hearing". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ "Protestors Downtown After Confirmation Of City Police Comm. Kevin Davis". CBS Baltimore. October 19, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Linderman, Juliet (December 13, 2016). "Baltimore hits 300 homicides for the year". Associated Press. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ "Baltimore police commissioner Kevin Davis replaced by mayor amid record murder rate". NBC News. January 19, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ 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. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Khan, Saliqa A.; Collins, David; Miller, Jayne; Robinson, Lisa (January 20, 2018). "Baltimore mayor fires police commissioner, citing need to reduce violence". WBAL-TV. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Andersen, Kelly (June 4, 2018). "Ex-BPD commissioner Kevin Davis speaks out for first time since his firing". WBFF. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Jouvendal, Justin (April 23, 2021). "Fairfax County taps former Baltimore chief to be next police leader". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (May 4, 2021). "Shadow Of Lawsuits Hangs Over New Police Chief In Fairfax". Patch Media. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Taube, David (May 26, 2021). "Fairfax Dems Call for Chief Davis to Be Fired". Reston Now. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Massimo, Rick (May 4, 2022). "1 year into new job, Fairfax Co. police chief talks reform". WTOP-FM. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Minock, Nick (July 28, 2021). "Fairfax County police chief declares personnel emergency amid staff shortage". WJLA-TV. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Minock, Nick (August 3, 2022). "Fairfax Co. Police Chief Kevin Davis speaks to 7News after announcing a staffing emergency". WJLA-TV. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Trompeter, Brian (November 23, 2021). "Fairfax police chief plans to hire more officers, modernize department". InsideNova. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (August 29, 2023). "New Fairfax Police Academy Class 'Record-Breaking Size': Chief Davis". Patch Media. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (June 2, 2023). "Fairfax Chief's Ban On Recording Causes Reston Leader To Resign". Patch Media. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Lewis, Tisha (October 3, 2023). "Fairfax County NAACP condemns police chief, claims department is ignoring community concerns". WTTG. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Rector, Kevin (February 27, 2019). "Kevin Davis, former Baltimore police commissioner, writing book on police consent decrees". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Serpick, Evan (March 1, 2019). "Former BPD Commissioner Kevin Davis named Open Society Leadership in Government Fellow". Open Society Foundations. Retrieved February 22, 2024.