After a long application process and nationwide search, the Durham Police Department found its new chief this spring: Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, a native North Carolinian, born at Fort Bragg to “a very big family, a very close military family,” she says. When her father retired, the family packed up and moved to Atlanta, where she went to high school and eventually decided to go into law enforcement. After a 30-year career with the Atlanta Police Department, Chief Davis, 56, the mother of an adult daughter [Chaun] living in Brooklyn and grandmother to two, was ready for a new challenge. Her husband, Terry, currently a supervisor with the Fulton County Sheriff ’s Office, “will join me here once our house there is sold.”
We chatted with her recently about her new position and what she hopes to accomplish here.
What attracted you to the Durham Police Department?
I knew that Durham is a progressive city, a growing city. I was really intrigued by the colleges that are here and the Research Triangle area. There just seemed to be a lot going on in a very concentrated area.
I started to take a deeper look into Durham, and the police department specifically. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Durham Police Department is a great department. And I wouldn’t have moved my husband and household here if I didn’t think this was a great department to work for and city to live in.
Durham is a great city with a long history of racial harmony and tolerance, unlike many other cities. Is that one of the reasons you decided to come here?
I was very attracted to the widespread philosophy advocating cultural diversity and inclusion in the city of Durham. There is also a deep-rooted sense of pride among residents toward Durham’s rich history and economic development in recent years.
Durham has a lot of little surprises for newcomers, including some of the best restaurants in the Southeast — what are your impressions so far?
I like walking the city; it’s a great place to enjoy festivals and arts, all of the quaint shops, restaurants. It’s a wonderful walking town. That has been my favorite part of the city so far. I really enjoyed a great meal at Parizade, love breakfast at Dame’s Chicken & Waffles, and Beyù Caffè is a great place for a healthy lunch and java. I love the Brightleaf area. And the food truck rodeos are awesome!
You’ve only been in office three months; have you developed goals coming into this new position?
One of my short-term goals is to identify youth programs that the Durham Police Department can be heavily involved in.
What I would like to see more of is a visible presence of the Durham Police Department, not [only] from an enforcement standpoint, but to have our officers in those communities mentoring young people, so that we’re not just talking to them during negative encounters with police. [We’re] changing our philosophy of being enforcers [to having] more of a guardian mentality as opposed to a warrior mentality.
How do you do that?
I think every police agency in the country should be taking a more surgical look at their department. How can they improve community relations? I think a good start is to find ways to partner with the community as it relates to having conversations and collaborative trainings. Traditionally, police agencies train alone; they teach their officers what they think they should know about the community. And we miss so many important factors, the pulse of the community, because we don’t include [the public] in what that training should look like.
Can you give me an example?
[The police] might think that burglaries are a big deal, but if you talk to the community members they might say burglaries aren’t a big deal right now, but loud noise is. So, sometimes we use data – which is important—but the data doesn’t capture some of the qualitative things that are out there in the community that you may not hear about because it is not captured in some sort of system. The only way you can hear about it is if you have some honest, one-on-one, in-your-face conversations with the people that you serve. So, as a police chief, I feel it is critically important to create opportunities for the community to be heard. That would be through our Citizens Police Academy [currently a once-a-year program]. It could be mobilized, a chance for us to go out into the community and hold sessions at recreation centers to make it more accessible to community members.
Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter — this has to be one of the toughest times to be a police officer. How’s the morale?
Officers who take an oath to serve the public are often rattled by incidents that cast distrust on the law enforcement profession as a whole. While we continue to seek opportunities to build better relationships with the communities we serve here in Durham, officers are often discouraged when stereotyped on the heels of controversial police encounters. However, Durham police officers have not wavered in their commitment to duty in spite of recent incidents.
Outlook?
I am excited about the Durham Police Department’s future. My leadership team is seasoned, competent and eager to take on new challenges in the months ahead. Our first priority is to provide safe and livable communities for our citizens and visiting guests. To accomplish this, we must examine our strengths and weaknesses and develop aggressive and proactive strategies to meet the challenges in our daily work.
I’m being challenged with patience. I’m being challenged with understanding a different political landscape than what I’m accustomed to. It’s good for me, it’s expanding my horizons.
Dancin’ Department
The DPD Busts a move in YouTube video
I had a chance to watch your “#BullCity Running Man Challenge” video in response to the Atlanta Police Department. It seemed like you all had such fun making it.
It was a great way for me to respond to Atlanta that [Durham] is my new home, and it was also an opportunity for our officers to be engaged in sort of a fun community outreach project. Headed up by public affairs folks, they really did a good job incorporating the community. We really wanted the citizens to see Durham police officers in a different light, especially in light of what is going on around the country.
What were some of your favorite moments creating the video?
I thought it was really cool for [us] to be out there with the kids. The Bulls stadium, I think, was what Atlanta called the “drop-the-mic moment” and to have the entire audience in the stadium see our officers in that light and be a part of the filming was really special.
Fund the Force
In 2015, the Durham Police Department created the Blue Benevolence fund at the behest of citizens as a way to support local law enforcement programs that enhance community relations. In addition to its Blue Benevolence fund, DPD also collects donations for its Police Athletic League (PAL), a program designed to unite police and youth through athletics and leadership activities. For more information, contact Kimberle Walker at 919-560-4322, ext. 29194.
