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POLICE CHIEF CERELYN C.J. DAVIS WILL LEAVE DURHAM to lead the Memphis, Tennessee police department less than five years after becoming Durham's top cop. She leaves after heated public debate regarding the direction of law enforcement.
In 2019, the Durham City Council opposed Davis’ recommendation to add 72 officers to the department over a three-year period. The council rejected Davis’s revised request to add 18 officers at a council work session.
“I don’t think we need 18 additional patrol officers,” Mayor Pro Tem Jillian Johnson said during the council meeting. “Our calls for service are down. Our response times are faster. And crime is on a 20-year downward trend. So that signals to me that things are going well.”
Johnson offered an amendment removing Davis’ $1.2 million request and replaced it with $650,000 to increase pay for city part-time employees with an increase of $15.46 per hour. The amendment passed 4-3 with support from Charlie Reese, Javiera Caballero and Vernetta Alston. Mayor Steve Schewel, Mark-Anthony Middelton and DeDreanna Freeman opposed the amendment.
Last year, the city council voted to increase the police department budget by five percent, adding $1 million, after the council received thousands of emails from residents begging them not to support more money for law enforcement.
The police department’s $70 million budget prioritized the “gang unit” and backfilled positions, opposed to creating new ones. The Durham Chapter of Democratic Socialist of America responded by camping out in front of Durham Police Department headquarters. The protest continued long after the council vote.
Durham Beyond Policing, a local group in support of national “defund police” efforts, has presented proposals aimed at redirecting money to address the root causes of crime. Suggestions include Crisis Intervention Teams, community centers, youth organizations and addressing food security.
In comparison, Memphis is the recipient of $9.8 million in funding from the Department of Justice to add 50 new officers to Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), while the city council approved $282 million for the police department in the 2021 budget. Crime statistics list Memphis as one of the most violent cities in America. Given pressures to defund the police, the Memphis city council continues to find ways to support law enforcement.
The selection of the next police chief will be decided by members of the city council. Ward representative on the council will be decided by voters on November 2, 2021. The filing period for the three ward seats begins on July 26 and closes on August 13. It’s too early to know all the players, but this is what the Rev-elution has uncovered so far.
Canidates for Mayor
So far, Mayor Steve Schewel hasn’t announced if he’s running. Former Superior Court Judge and North Carolina Central University Dean Elaine O’Neal has declared after spending two years as the co-chair of the Durham Racial Equity Task Force. O’Neal will be a rarity. Currently, there are no Durham natives elected to serve on the city council and board of county commissioners (Pierce Freelon was appointed by members of the city council). O’Neal’s longevity on the court bench and deep ties to the Durham community will provide tremendous insight in selecting the next chief of police.
Ward 1
DeDreanna Freeman is the incumbent in this critical ward. A large percentage of Durham’s crime takes place in North East Central Durham, where Freeman has focused on social, environmental and economic justice. Freeman’s deep ties to residents living in North East Durham, combined with her work as co-chair of Episcopalians United Against Racism, will make it difficult for Marion Johnson, to defeat. Johnson, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, heads Durham’s participatory budgeting steering committee. She supports divesting from police and investing in gun violence prevention, anti-poverty measures, and restorative justice. Johnson served as one of the managers in Jillian Johnson’s campaign for city council.
Ward 2
Mark-Anthony Middleton, along with Freeman, are strong advocates of Police Chief C.J. Davis’ agenda. He lobbied for ShotSpotter, technology that detects gunfire and sends message to law enforcement. ShotSpotter offered the $200,000 system to Durham on a free six-month trial. On August 12, 2020, Middleton, a local pastor, called on 1,000 Black men to help curb violence in Durham. The same month, he proposed Durham give 200 to 300 residents $500 to $1,000 a month to reduce economic disparity. Currently, Middleton has no challengers.
Ward 3
Pierce Freelon was appointed to a seat by members of the council after Vernetta Alston resigned to fill Mary Ann Black’s 29th District seat in the State House of Representatives. Freelon unsuccessfully ran for Durham mayor in 2017, was bypassed by members of the city council in the selection of Caballero to fill Schewel seat when he was elected mayor and lost his bid for state senate against Natalie Murdock last year. We can expect a few of his challengers in the appointment process to file, but Shelia Huggins and Anita Daniels-Kenney informed the Rev-elution they will not be seeking election to the city council. Huggins kept the door open for another office, and says stay tuned in for an upcoming announcement. Expect to hear from Leonardo Williams and Sarah Sinning, the other finalist when Freelon was appointed.
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