Lisa Davis named sole finalist for Austin police chief

Lisa Davis, an assistant chief with Cincinnati’s police force, has been chosen to take over the Austin Police Department, City Manager T.C. Broadnax announced Friday morning.

“I have elected to move Chief Davis forward for confirmation by the City Council as she has a stellar record in her extensive career in law enforcement,” he said in a statement, “and I am confident that she will earn the trust and confidence of our Austin Police officers and our community.”

Davis’ selection caps off a monthslong search for a permanent police chief. If approved by the City Council, she would be the second woman to lead APD in the city’s history.

Davis joined the Cincinnati Police Department in 1992, working a beat downtown. She served in different leadership roles before being named assistant police chief in February 2020. She has also been a police chief finalist for Cincinnati and Toledo over the last two years.

The Austin police chief manages more than 1,800 police officers and 500 professional staff members with a $478 million budget. The chief’s executive leadership team includes a chief of staff and five assistant chiefs of police.

Davis will be taking over a department plagued with staffing shortages over the last few years. APD is currently down 350 officers, impacting calls and response times. The city has been trying to fill the gaps in a number of ways.

Davis said building morale and trust within the department is a key way to address the issue.

“When you look at recruiting, you have to look at morale and retention,” she said. “All of those are tied together. … There is no better recruiter for a police department than those that work there.”

Davis said she’d also focus on securing a long-term labor contract with the Austin Police Association, the police union, as part of the recruitment effort. Those contract negotiations are nearing an end after a yearslong stalemate.

APA President Michael Bullock told KUT on Friday he is glad Broadnax took his time searching for a new chief of police. Bullock said the conversations he’s had with Davis in addressing issues surrounding staffing have been promising.

“Overall, I’m looking forward to working with Chief Davis and seeing what we can do to make sure we prioritize taking care of the staff that we have now and address a lot of the other issues that we have,” he said.

The City of Austin has been without a permanent police chief since last fall when Joseph Chacon retired. Robin Henderson has been serving as interim chief ever since.

The city launched a national search for police chief in May. Davis and Jeffrey Norman, chief of the Milwaukee Police Department, were selected as finalists out of 32 applicants. The candidate pool did not include Henderson, who said she plans to retire after the new chief settles in.

Davis and Norman met last week with members of the public, where they answered questions about their priorities and how they would approach the job. Attendees and interview panels gave feedback, which Broadnax said staff took into consideration.

The Austin City Council must approve the hiring before it becomes official. That vote is set for Tuesday.