Green Bay’s New Police Chief Managed Response To 2020 Unrest In Portland

Green Bay’s new police chief is a longtime veteran of the Portland, Oregon police force.

The Green Bay Police and Fire Commission selected Chris Davis for the job after a monthslong process that included a series of community listening sessions. He will replace Chief Andrew Smith, who announced his retirement in April.

Davis, who started his career in 1994, is a 22-year veteran of the Portland Police Bureau and has been its deputy chief since 2013. In a video introduction message he made during Green Bay’s search process, he alluded to the widespread looting and vandalism in Portland that followed protests of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last year.

“These days, when you mention that you’re from Portland, people want to know about all the big issues we faced in the last year, like civil unrest last summer and escalating gun violence,” Smith said. “In spite of these challenges, we’ve made some great strides in terms of reform, accountability and community policing. And I’ve had the opportunity to learn a lot and to innovate and to build a foundation of education and experience that I believe can serve the city of Green Bay.”

In a July 2020 presentation, Davis said the city saw weeks of illegal activity that went beyond “legitimate protest.”

“There’s a very big difference between protests and the kind of mayhem that we’ve seen every night,” he said, according to a report by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

The sustained unrest in Portland became a national flashpoint last year, and then-President Donald Trump sent federal troops to the city, saying the Portland Police Bureau wasn’t capable of managing the situation. At the same time, Davis was harshly criticized by some involved in the protests who saw police use of tear gas and other tactics as heavy-handed. Some of those criticisms surfaced when he was considered for a job with the Milwaukee Police Department last year.

In his video message, Davis said of the department, “we have our critics, but we also have a lot of supporters who recognize the value of the work we do.”

Davis was one of four finalists for the Green Bay job. Two of the finalists were internal candidates; one was a Milwaukee Police Department captain. Police and Fire Commission president Rod Goldhahn said all four were strong candidates, but they felt Davis’ history of building connections with the community and the department would translate to his work in Green Bay.

Goldhahn said the Commission asked a lot of questions about his experience policing during the unrest in Portland, and sought to understand what happened there last summer and what Portland police were facing.

But, he said, “we’re not hiring Portland. We’re hiring Chris Davis.”

Like many other cities, Green Bay saw a surge in shootings in 2020. The department also responded to vandalism and shooting in the wake of protests last year. Its reputation isn’t all bad; in January U.S. News and World Report ranked it the safest city in America.

Smith led the Green Bay Police Department for five years. James Runge, a retired commander with the department, is serving as interim chief until Davis takes over.

Davis’ wife is from the Fox Valley, and he has family in the area. Goldhahn said he expects Davis will start in the job in September.