MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis City Council vote Tuesday on whether to recommend reappointment for Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis has been tabled in committee.
This came after Memphis Mayor Paul Young said he suggested to the chair that the appointment be tabled, allowing Chief Davis to continue as MPD’s interim chief until a later date “to be determined.”
“We are in a crisis right now. My job is to resolve the crisis,” said Mayor Young.
According to Mayor Young, Chief Davis will serve in an interim capacity until the Memphis City Council has the seven votes needed to bring up her future again.
Chairman JB Smiley said he supported Young in tabling the vote.
“We want to see if Chief Davis can rebuild trust in the community. The council, and the mayor, is a compromise. This vote will not come back to the city council until there is seven votes,” Smiley told ABC24.
This all comes after a city council meeting in early January where members voted 7-6 to not recommend Davis for reappointment. That meeting was the first time the newly-elected Memphis City Council faced the MPD chief, who was under heavy scrutiny for the perceived lack of transparency following the death of Tyre Nichols and record-breaking crime numbers in 2023.
The largest point of contention was accusations the Memphis Police Department was not being ordered by Davis to follow city ordinances passed after the death of Tyre Nichols, which were meant to end pre-textual traffic stops. Davis addressed accusations she wasn't being truthful to the council.
"I'm not a liar, I don't have to be a liar," Davis said in front of the city council. "I went to work for this council [after the ordinances were passed], I navigated the politics, I navigated the state law, the federal law, and the position of our officers receiving mixed messages."
Recently, news broke that former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland rejected the approved city council ordinances that would end pretextual traffic stops, the use of unmarked cars, and some other MPD measures.
During a news conference Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, MPD Chief CJ Davis said Strickland's rejection of those measures needed context.
"The mayor didn't sign off on the ordinance. However, once the ordinance was passed by the Council, the police department changed our policies. We have to have policies that mirror city ordinance, so we changed the policies anyway," said Chief Davis. "You know, we didn't have to wait for the mayor to sign or not sign. So, our policies have been changed, our officers have had role call training and they have been operating under those ordinances and we haven't had any issues."
When asked during the news conference, new Mayor Paul Young promised the city would enforce them.
