Mitchell R. Davis III

Mitchell R. Davis III is currently the Chief of Police for the Village of Hazel Crest, IL located just outside the south side of Chicago. He started his law enforcement career in 1991. In 2001, he took his first position as chief of police and has served as chief of police in two other departments before going to Hazel Crest. Chief Davis is serving in his 14th total year in the capacity of Chief of Police.

Chief Davis is currently completing his dissertation titled, ‘What Affect Does Police Culture Have on its Relationship With Communities of Color?’ for his PhD in Organizational Leadership at Concordia University of Chicago. He also holds a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Governors State University. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command, Class #182. 

In 2022, Chief Davis became the first person ever to receive the NFL Alumni Association’s ‘Law Enforcement Man of the Year Award’ for work with their Child Identification Program. The recognition was done by the NFL during its annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend Ceremony. He was also one of the subjects featured in the Leadership Center for Attorney General Studies and Five to Sixty Documentary entitled “Two Trials”, that explored how the Attorney Generals in Kentucky and Minnesota dealt with the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. In 2021, Chief Davis has received the ‘Attorney General Eric Holder Leadership Award’ from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ from the National Civil Rights Library, a Resolution #303 from the Illinois House of Representatives, and he was recognized as one of the ‘Chicago Defender Men of Excellence Awardees’. He was recognized as the ‘2018 Police Chief of the Year’ by the Illinois State Crime Commission and in 2019 he received the Jefferson Award for ‘Lifetime Achievement in Public Service’. In 2020, Chief Davis served as s subject matter expert for the evaluation of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department after the police killing of Breonna Taylor. He also did presentations addressing bias and race relations between the police and the community for the United States Capitol Police just three months to the day before the insurrection at the Capitol. 

Chief Davis is currently a 2024 Candidate for 2nd Vice President for the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), where he served as National Recording Secretary from 2017 – 2020 and is a member of the Education and Training Committee.  He is also a Past Chapter President and current Executive Board member for the Chicagoland Metropolitan Chapter. 

Chief Davis is a Past President of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP) 2021-2022, where he led the organization in its efforts with Illinois General Assembly Legislators during the development, passage, and subsequent trailer bills on HB 3653 on Criminal Justice Reform. He was the first Black president in the 80-year history of the statewide organization. He is also a representative for the organization on Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton’s Justice, Equity, and Opportunity Initiative which addresses criminal justice reform. He also served as a representative on Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s working group on Legislation for Law Enforcement Licensing.

Chief Davis was appointed by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker to serve as a member of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, and he was elected by the membership as Chairman of the Board in December of 2020 which is also a 1st for a person of color. He was also appointed by Governor Pritzker to the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes. Chief Davis was also appointed to the Regional Advisory Committee for implementation of Illinois’ 988 Mental Health Crisis Community Emergency Services and Support Act.

Chief Davis serves as a member of Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s Violent Crimes Advisory Commission. He was also a member of the International Delegation of the Attorney Generals Alliance that traveled to Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa to work with them on training pertaining to criminal justice matters. As a result of sweeping legislative reforms enacted in 2021, he was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court Pretrial Implementation Task Force and the Illinois Resentencing Task Force, which are charged with establishing processes for implementation of issues pertaining to warrants, violations, diversion, and electronic monitoring surrounding the new Illinois Criminal Justice Reform Legislation. 

Chief Davis is a member of the Board of Directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Chairman of its Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Committee. He also served on the President’s Inclusion and Diversity Task Force and the Council of the Great City Schools and IACP Task Force.

Chief Davis is a Past President for the South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police (SSACOP), the largest regional chiefs’ organization in Illinois, and is chairman of the Training Committee.

Chief Davis is a member of the National Leadership Council for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and is also an Executive Board Co-Chair of Illinois Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, which advocates for early childhood education. He serves as an Advisory Board Member for the NFL Alumni Association’s Child Identification Program. He served for 8 years as a founding member and Chairman for the Southland Juvenile Justice Council, which seeks to divert juveniles in south suburban Cook County from the criminal justice system. He is a member of the NBC 5 Community Action Board. He represented NOBLE as a law enforcement advisor for Northeastern University in Boston’s Addressing the Trust Gap: Historical Injustices and Present Policing Project. Chief Davis serves on the Board of Directors for Anew: Building Beyond Violence and Abuse, which provides shelter and services to victims of domestic violence. He is a member of the Criminal Justice Program Advisory Committees for South Suburban College and for Prairie State College. 

Internationally, Chief Davis spent over a year and a half as a member of a team that collaborated with members of the Command Staff for the London Met Police Department. The collaboration focused on developing strategies to promote diversity, inclusivity, and bridge building with people of color, both inside the department and in the community. He was the first person to provide training to a specialized group that was ultimately formed as a result of those collaborative efforts. Chief Davis also served as a keynote speaker on Community Policing for the Association of Caribbean Commissioners of Police’s Annual Training Conference. 

Chief Davis is a certified trainer and facilitator for NOBLE’s ‘The Law and Your Community’. He developed and taught life-skills classes for the Nike Corporation for 13 years to professional basketball prospects. He developed and taught a life-skills program to inner-city young men of color who are HIV positive, gay, and homeless. He was a guest presenter at Governors State University for 10 years and was an instructor in the Criminal Justice Department for Westwood College. He also served as a Police Liaison Officer for 27 years at south suburban Chicago high schools.

Chief Davis was published in Issue 16.1 of the Illinois Training and Standards Board Executive Institute’s ‘Law Enforcement Executive Forum’ with an article entitled, “The Reality That Creates the Perception: An African-American Law Enforcement Executive’s View of the Relationship Between Law Enforcement and the African-American Community”. He was also published in the November 2016 issue of ‘Command Magazine’, the quarterly publication for the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, with an article entitled, “Leadership in Law Enforcement’s Responsibility on Bias; From a Black Chief’s Perspective”, the May 2021 issue with an article about his Historic Presidency, and the November 2021 issue with an article entitled, “A Culture of Groupthink”.

Chief Davis frequently travels the country as a guest speaker and trainer for entities that include NOBLE, IACP, ILACP, Alabama Attorney General’s Criminal Justice Summit, the United States Capital Police, Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police Association, Atlanta Police Department Command Staff, Congressional Black Caucus, as well as others. He has also developed and presents classes that include, “Leadership in Law Enforcement from a Black Chief’s Perspective”, “Law Enforcement and the Minority Community”, and “Courageous, Inclusive Leadership in Law Enforcement”.

Chief Davis is married and has 4 adult children and 4 grandchildren. He is a man that is led by his faith in God in all aspects of his life. In his free time, he is an avid boater, and he loves to travel. He is also a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.