Bio Mitchell Davis III
MITCHELL R. DAVIS III
Chief Mitchell R. Davis is Chief of Police for the Hazel Crest Police Department and was installed as the 73rd ILACP president on April 30, 2021.
He started his law enforcement career with the Park Forest Police Department in 1991. In Park Forest, he served in many capacities, such as investigator, evidence technician, juvenile officer, SWAT officer, DARE instructor, EDGE instructor, and others. He was selected as the 1996 Police Officer of the Year for his work as a detective in the department. He was also part of the first group of detectives that made up the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force. In 2001, he left the Park Forest Police Department and took his first Chief of Police position with the Dixmoor Police Department. He later became Chief of Police for the Robbins Police Department, before going to Hazel Crest.
Chief Davis is pursuing his PhD in Organizational Leadership at Concordia University of Chicago, and 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. Chief Davis was recognized as the 2018 Police Chief of the Year by the Illinois State Crime Commission, and is the 2018 recipient of the Ed Van Ley Community Service Award from the District 205 Academic Enrichment Foundation.
Chief Davis is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), where he is a member of the National Executive Board and the National Education and Training Committee. He is also a Past Chapter President and current Executive Board member of the Chicagoland Metropolitan Chapter.
Chief Davis was appointed to the Executive Board for the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police by President James Kruger in 2017. He is also a representative for the organization on the State of Illinois Criminal Justice Coordinating Advisory Council, which addresses criminal justice reform. He is an evaluator for the ILACP Assessment Center Service.
Chief Davis was appointed to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Committee in 2017, and sat as a presenter on two panels at the 2017 IACP Conference.
Chief Davis serves as an Executive Board member and Training Committee Chairperson for the South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police.
Chief Davis serves as the 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, which is an advisory board that works to display positive images and activities in our communities in the media. He served as a member of the Cook County Gun Violence Task Force, which developed suggestions to reduce gun violence in Cook County. He serves as an executive board member of the E-Com Consolidated Dispatch Center, which services nine south suburban communities of Chicago. He also serves as a member of the Cook County Interoperability Advisory Council, which works to ensure interoperability between agencies in Cook County and statewide.
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 also developed and taught a 10-week life-skills program for homeless inter-city young men who are HIV positive, gay, and homeless. He was a guest presenter at Governors State University for 10 years, and was a professor in the Criminal Justice Department for Westwood College. He has also served as a Police Liaison Officer for 27 years at south suburban Chicago high schools.
Chief Davis frequently travels the country as a guest speaker and trainer for organizations such as NOBLE, IACP, ILACP, 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 such as Leadership in Law Enforcement from a Black Chief’s Perspective, Law Enforcement and the Minority Community, and Courageous, Inclusive Leadership in Law Enforcement.
