Edward M. Davis

Edward Michael Davis (November 15, 1916 – April 22, 2006) was a chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (1969-1978) and later a California State Senator (1981-1993) and an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 1986. Davis' name was familiar to a generation of Americans since it appeared on its own card in the closing credits of the popular television programs Dragnet (1967-70) and Adam-12 (1968-75).

Born in Los Angeles, California to James Leonard Davis and Lillian Fox Davis, Davis married Virginia Osborne in 1940 before serving in the United States Navy during World War II. During his term as Chief, Davis was also quite controversial: the LAPD became notorious for its policy of routinely using chokeholds for any reason – or for no reason at all – during arrests, Terry stops, and even traffic stops. The holds were often applied until the suspect passed out. By the time the policy was halted in May 1982 by the Police Commission, 15 people had died. The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lawsuit seeking an injunction to halt the practice permanently, because Adolph Lyons could not prove that there was a substantial and immediate likelihood that he personally would be choked again. City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95 (1983). As well, during his tenure, the LAPD and its vice squad were known for active policing against gays. Zealous officers are purported to have dangled a youth over a cliff to try to make him reveal names of a pedophile ring.

However, Davis was also an intelligent police chief who pursued innovative approaches to crime. He balanced his tough law-and-order rhetoric with a boots-on-the-ground policing strategy that assigned officers to specific neighborhoods in an effort to build personal ties with residents. His philosophy was incorporated in a program he called the Basic Car Plan, which divided Los Angeles into small geographical areas and assigned officers to meet with community representatives. Davis, who assigned almost 900 officers to the program, believed that police would be more effective if their duties were tailored to each locality. The officers were instructed to find out which crime problems concerned residents the most and then devise crime-fighting plans. He also created the Neighbourhood Watch program which required police officers to stay in the homes of local residents to receive their views on the local criminal situation and set up effective Crime response programs. Both programs were highly innovative for the 1970's era. Significantly, in the 9 years that Mr. Davis served as police chief, crime rates in Los Angeles actually dipped slightly at a time when they were climbing nationwide. The community policing which he championed fell out of favor with the next chief, Daryl F. Gates, but was adopted again by later administrations after the Rodney King affair in 1991 and is now utilised by police departments nationwide as an alternative to more conventional confrontational approaches.

On April 10, 1976, over a hundred officers, with Davis present, raided a charitable "slave auction" event. Dozens of men were detained on charges of violating an 1899 anti-slavery statute, but the expensive raid was criticized by the city council and no one was convicted. See also the wikipedia article on the LAPD. Davis retired in 1978 and was elected to the California State Senate two years later. He would serve for 12 years (during the first two years of which, Tom McClintock served as his Chief of Staff.)

The last TV interview with Senator Ed Davis was videotaped in March of 2002 where he recalls his years as LAPD Chief and describes the values and traits necessary to be a successfull Chief of Police. He also describes his impressions of a young LAPD Lt. named Bernard Parks who went on to become Chief. Ed Davis was known as the "Father of Community Policing", in this interview he describes how he implemented the "community policing" program during his administration. The hour long interview was conducted by Emmy Award winning host Leslie Dutton on the Full Disclosure Network(tm). The first part (30 min) of this two-part program is now available for viewing FREE, 24/7, "On Demand" as a public service by clicking on the following URL:http://www.fulldisclosure.net/flash/VideoBlogs/334-35_Ed_Davis.php

External link

• Tough-Talking Chief Reshaped LAPD

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