Who is Cerelyn Davis, Memphis police chief? Jason Whitlock blames ‘single black woman’ for Tyre Nichols’ death

Journalist Jason Whitlock became the target of social media backlash after he blamed the death of Tyre Nichols on Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis. He said that the five officers accused of murdering Nichols did not know how to act because their police chief is a “single Black woman.”

The Memphis Police Department released video footage of Nichols’ arrest on Friday which showed that on January 7, five officers hit the 29-year-old Black man, who died three days later. The officers, who also happen to be Black, have been fired and charged with second-degree murder. Since then, there have been widespread protests across the country as the public demanded justice for Nichols.

Also Read | Who is Desmond Mills Jr., former Memphis police officer charged in Tyre Nichols’ death?

Meanwhile, Whitlock weighed in on the incident during his appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight shortly after the video was released. During his appearance, Whitlock blamed the identity of the Memphis police chief for the incident.

“There is a racial element. And this is a story about young Black men and their inability to treat each other in a humane way. Everybody involved in this on the street level was either 24 to 32 years old. Everybody. It was a group of young Black men, five-on-one. Looked like gang violence to me,” he said. “It looked like what young Black men do when they’re supervised by a single Black woman. And that’s what they got going on in the Memphis Police Department. They’ve elected some, or put some Black woman in charge of the police force, and we are getting the same kind of chaos and disunity and violence that we see in a lot of these cities run by single mothers.”

Also Read | What is Eta Zeta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi? Scandal-ridden fraternity Tyre Nichols’ death accused cop Tadarrius Bean was head at University of Mississippi

He added: “If we want to discuss the breakdown of family that leads to disrespect for authority that causes you to resist the police and run from the police and not comply with the police, because you resist authority at all times, because there was no male authority in your home, let’s have that discussion.”

Who is Cerelyn Davis?

Whitlock could not have been more wrong about the identity of Cerelyn Davis, the Memphis police chief. According to her bio on the Memphis Police website, she is married to a retired law enforcement officer and has one daughter.

Also Read | Chris Paul, Lebron James among NBA stars condemning police brutality in Tyre Nichols’s death

She has over 35 years of experience in the law enforcement profession. She began her career with the City of Atlanta Police Department. “She was assigned to a variety of specialized assignments as a young patrol officer and quickly moved through the ranks working as an Investigator in Licenses & Permits, supervisor in Background & Recruitment, Special Victims, Executive Officer to the Chief, Public Affairs, Homeland Security & Organized Crime,” says her bio.

In addition, she was the Internal Affairs Commander, and Airport Section Assistant Commander, and served on Executive Loan as a Project Manager to the Mayor’s Office.

Throughout her career, she has received numerous awards and honors, including Atlanta Police Supervisor of the Year. She was also featured in OPRAH ‘O’ Magazine as the winner of the “Women Rule” competition and in Atlanta’s Women Looking Ahead Magazine as one of Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Women.