Hazel Crest police Chief Mitchell Davis was named the 49th national president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives in July at the organization’s national conference.
“NOBLE’s motto is justice by action,” Davis said. “We do that by considering ourselves to be the conscience of law enforcement.”
The goal is to ensure equitable policing in all communities, Davis said.
“When there are things that come up that might not be in the best interest of our Black communities or marginalized communities, we speak out on those issues and make sure that those communities have a voice in this arena,” Davis said.
NOBLE was founded in 1976, and marked its 50th anniversary this year.
“There were 61 founders that met in the DC area,” Davis said. “They were Black leaders in law enforcement that came together to try to come up with some solutions to crime, the high rates of crime in Black communities, and some of the challenges that they were faced with as Black folks in law enforcement.”
Davis said he had his first interaction with the organization in the 1990s, when he participated in a training the organization held in Chicago, though he didn’t connect with it properly until he got his first job as a police chief in 2001, in Dixmoor.
“I became a part of the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter at that time, and actually became the president shortly thereafter,” Davis said.
Chicago area programming by NOBLE includes a program called The Law & Your Community, intended to encourage productive interactions with law enforcement, Davis said.
“We go into schools, we go to community groups, we go to churches and we teach the community how to interact with law enforcement,” Davis said. “We give them a little bit more insight as to how things work in the law enforcement world so that their encounters with law enforcement, the likelihood that it’s going to be a fatal encounter is lessened.”
The organization also mentors young people interested in joining law enforcement, helping them prepare for and take tests, he said.
Davis was elected as second vice president two years ago, he said. The way NOBLE’s executive leadership operates, leaders serve two years as a vice president before serving one year as president, and then remain on the board as the immediate past president for another year, he said.
The structure “provides an opportunity for continuity in leadership, because you’re in line with these people,” Davis said.
Prior to running for the national presidency, Davis said he served on the organization’s board for three years as a records secretary.
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Davis said one of his priorities as president is to address gun violence in a more concerted fashion, including coordinating with Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that works to prevent gun violence and advocate for gun control.
Gun violence came to the fore in Chicago this summer after a three-day stretch in which 39 people were shot throughout the city, six fatally. Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an executive order to create a city Office of Gun Violence Prevention shortly after.
Davis said he also wants to make sure NOBLE provides resources and support to chiefs who “come under undue fire,” serving a similar role that unions can serve for rank-and-file officers.
“Chiefs who, by no fault of their own, are subject to politics or bias or any other,” Davis said.
NOBLE has 59 chapters and 4,800 members, according to its website.
“We want to make sure first and foremost that the community knows that there are people in law enforcement that are fighting for equitable policing in all communities,” Davis said. “Especially marginalized communities.”