Top Official Fired for Allegedly Covering Up Child Abuse

(NewsReady.com) – The nation’s attention is currently on Memphis, Tennessee, in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death. Multiple first responders have lost their jobs as a result, and five officers have been charged with murder. New reports now indicate the chief of the police department was fired from her previous job in Atlanta.

In 2021, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis became the chief of the Memphis Police Department. Thirteen years before her promotion, in 2008, the Atlanta Police Department fired her for allegedly telling two detectives not to investigate Terrill Marion Crane, the husband of Sgt. Tanya Crane.

Davis’ alleged order came after police came in possession of photographs of Terrill Crane with underage girls. When nothing happened in the case, a probe pointed to Davis as the reason. A federal grand jury later indicted Crane for child pornography, to which he pleaded guilty.

The chief of Memphis’ police department had a lengthy career in Atlanta that nearly ended with her 2008 firing in connection with a botched investigation involving the husband of a police sergeant.https://t.co/FksudRHU6X

— Janelle Fiona Griffith (@janellefiona) January 29, 2023

Davis was demoted from major to lieutenant, but ultimately, the city’s Civil Service Board determined her actions warranted termination. She’d worked for the Atlanta PD since 1986, starting her career as a patrol officer. However, after some time, she was ultimately reinstated and worked for the department until 2016, when she left to take the position as the chief of the Durham, North Carolina, police department.

After becoming the Memphis chief, Davis oversaw the launch of the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods (SCORPION) unit to combat rising crime. That unit is at the center of the Nichols case. Activists have long accused the SCORPION officers of using excessive force. The unit has confronted Nichols, and the officers involved are accused of beating him. He later died from his injuries.

Chief Davis has not indicated she plans to resign from her current position. In fact, she is being applauded for the quick action taken against the officers. As of now, despite the news about her previous firing and reinstatement, her position appears secure — of course, nothing is guaranteed.