Before Tyre Nichols was killed, the Memphis police chief had a shocking record in another department.

Memphis Police Chief Serelyn “CJ” Davis, who promptly fired five officers for their role in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, was fired from the Atlanta Police Department for allegations that she protected a police sergeant’s husband from arrest.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, two Atlanta police detectives accused Davis of advising them to drop any investigation into Terrill Marion “TC” Crane, who was the husband of Atlanta Police Sergeant Tony Crane. Crane was an employee of Davis.

A 2009 Justice Department press release in which Crane pleads guilty to producing child pornography states: “This defendant has sexually exploited numerous young girls, and this unforgivable criminal behavior has gone unpunished for years, even after he was brought to the attention of the Atlanta Police Department.”

The report said Atlanta police were aware of photographs showing sexual contact between Crane and underage women as early as 2000, but did not report to federal authorities until 2007.

“This case is several years old, which makes the list of victims longer and the facts of the case even more disturbing,” US Attorney David E. Nahmias said in a press release.

According to the Journal-Constitution, former police chief Richard Pennington initially demoted Davis, who was a major at the time of the incident, to lieutenant. He later fired her. The Atlanta Public Service Board reinstated her.

#Memphis Chief of Police Serelyn Davis, in charge of #TyreNichols was killed, was once fired from the Atlanta Police Department for trying to cover up a case involving another officer’s husband. #StopCopCity it’s not just a local struggle.

— Atlanta Press Community (@atlanta_press) January 28, 2023

In a 2008 Atlanta Journal-Constitution report that was posted on the Masscops website, Pennington stated that his action was necessary.

“These allegations were disturbing in nature and were of great concern to the Atlanta Police Department,” Pennington said. “Any behavior associated with these alleged actions is unacceptable and I will act quickly to enforce the law, even among our own.”

The report said the charges against Davis dated back to 2004 and cited case documents stating that Detective Bobby Render said that “when he asked Davis how to proceed with the Crane case, she told him to ‘stop’ and ‘make a gesture hand in front of her neck.

If you wanted to know about #MemphisPolice Cerelyn CJ Davis’ past story #Atlantapolice here are the records. These records show why she was FIRED and then HIRED.

CASE 1:

CASE 2:

CASE 3:

— Sir Major  (@sirmaejor) January 29, 2023

A 2021 WATN-TV report said that Davis sued for reinstatement and was later promoted to deputy chief in 2014.

In 2021, she said she did nothing wrong in Atlanta.

“Basically, and I’m just going to use the terminology, I was used as a scapegoat for this particular incident,” she said.

“I could have retired. I could have left the department as a major and retired full time, but I refused to take the blame for something I had nothing to do with,” she said.

In 2016, Davis left Atlanta to work as a police chief in Durham, North Carolina. In 2021, she was named Chief of the Memphis Police Department.

This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.

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