Farmville Appoints New Police Chief

The search is over. The months-long, thorough, even exhaustive reviews of the fifty-plus applicants that were interested in the position have been narrowed to the inevitable one. The Town of Farmville has now chosen a new Chief of Police.

Curtis Davis

From a final group of five applicants that included long-time Farmville officer and acting Chief Andy Ellington, the Personnel Committee of the Town Council chose Police Officer Curtis Davis to fill the position. Officer Davis is currently working in law enforcement as the Deputy Chief of Police of the City of Roanoke.

The official announcement was made during the regular meeting of the Farmville Town Council held on February 11. Vice Mayor and Personnel Committee head A. D. “Chuckie” Reid, after making the choice known,  took the opportunity to thank Officer Ellington not only for applying for the Chief’s position along with the other applicants, but for working in his current capacity as well, the head of the Office of Professional Standards. The creation of this new office was just one of the many improvements and positive impacts for which retiring Chief Doug Mooney was responsible in the five short years he held the position.

Officer Ellington, displaying both a fine character and great degree of loyalty to the Council, the police department, and indeed, to the town and residents that the two entities vow tao protect, took the podium and thanked everyone for the chance to apply for the position. He further promised to “…make the transition of the new Chief as smooth as possible.”

Deputy Chief Curtis Davis, who will be assuming his duties as Chief here in Farmville on March 16th, had been a member of the Roanoke Police Department since 1989. His impressive, 26-year career included a promotion to sergeant in 1999. According to an article written by Amy Friedenberger of the Roanoke Times on February 12, 2015, “He was narcotics unit supervisor before being promoted to lieutenant in 2005, when he served as director of the Roanoke Police Training Academy, which he helped reorganize. He was promoted to captain in 2006, first directing the Patrol Bureau, and then overseeing the Criminal Investigations Bureau in 2008.

“Davis was promoted to Deputy Chief in 2010, overseeing the police department’s Services Division. After the department reorganized its operations last year, a process in which he was instrumental, he took over the Uniform Operations Division.

“Davis was an original member of the department’s tactical response team, serving for 10 years and rising to tactical team commander.”

In addition to the 26 years of on-the-job law enforcement experience that he will be bringing to the table, Officer Davis comes equipped with an extensive arsenal of formal secondary education that is targeted specifically for the job that the town of Farmville expects him to do. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He received a B.S. in Human Resource Management from Bluefield College, as well as a degree in Executive Education Training from the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond. Additionally, Davis holds a Certificate of Senior Management from PERF at Boston Academy, a Certification from the National Criminal Justice Command College at the University of Virginia and an AAS in Administration of Justice from Virginia Western Community College.

When asked, in a short telephone interview with the Southside Messenger, why he decided to make the move to central Virginia, Deputy Chief Davis said that he has “…always liked the (Farmville) area, especially with the University right there in town. I have 26 years in now. I have wanted to try a chief’s position for some time and Farmville has all of the things I have been looking for, and is about the right size town for me. When the position came available, I decided to apply.”

His mannerisms during the interview were laid back and friendly. He was very easy to talk with, a perception that was backed up by Amy Friedenberger, reporter for the Roanoke Times. In an email conversation with the Southside Messenger she let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that Farmville’s gain will definitely be Roanoke’s loss. “We actually are all really sad for him to leave Roanoke because he’s been a great person in the department to talk to,” she wrote in the email.

Officer Davis is married, with two grown sons. The younger son plans to start college in the fall. His eldest son and his wife were just blessed with their first child, a daughter. Officer Davis is as proud a grandfather as there could ever be, sources told the Southside Messenger.

(Special Thanks to Reporter Amy Friedenberger of the Roanoke Times for providing information for this article.)