The cop who was in charge of the police investigation into the circumstances of Freddie Gray's fatal injuries is a relative unknown in Baltimore: Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Davis.
Davis arrived in Baltimore in January after a year and a half leading the Anne Arundel County Police Department, where he won praise for boosting the image of an agency tarnished by scandal.
And before that, he had a long career in Prince George's, where he helped the department emerge from federal oversight related to officers' use of force.
Davis' supporters are confident he's the right man for the job in Baltimore.
"He's the perfect choice, in my opinion," said Prince George's Police Chief Mark Magaw. "Commissioner [Anthony] Batts is lucky he's there. He's a tremendous investigator and administrator."
Davis grew up among police in Prince George's, where his father was an officer. After earning a degree in English at what is now Towson University, Davis entered the police academy in his home county.
He worked his way up from beat cop to district commander to assistant chief. Along the way, he built a reputation for transparency that was the real deal and not just talk, Magaw said. Magaw has been watching his former colleague give news conferences on national television and has been impressed.
"What you see is what you get. He can be trusted," Magaw said.
Laura Neuman also has been watching Davis with pride. After she was appointed Anne Arundel County executive in 2013 in the wake of a police-involved scandal that brought down the previous county executive, John R. Leopold, she needed a top cop who could right the ship.
"He understood what it took to manage during a crisis time," Neuman said.
Leopold was accused of ordering his executive protection officers to carry out personal and political tasks for him, including uprooting campaign signs and keeping watch while he had liaisons with a county employee in the back seat of a police car. Leopold was convicted of misconduct in office and resigned. Leopold's chief of police, James Teare, was never charged but resigned amid the investigation.
In Davis, Neuman said she found a quiet leader who emphasized the need to move past the scandal and forge strong connections with the community.
"His leadership is subtle," Neuman said. "He's soft-spoken and he delivers."
Davis established community and business advisory councils, quadrupled enrollment in the citizen's police academy, put the department on social media and frequently visited with crime victims.
"To really be that connected with the community is pretty extraordinary," Neuman said.
When he was hired, Davis said he thought it was important to work regularly with local residents in order to "put some good will in the bank" for when crises arise.
Davis' brief tenure in Anne Arundel was not without controversy, however. He riled the rank-and-file offices when he criticized their union's donation to support Darren Wilson, the police officer in Ferguson, Mo., who fatally shot teenager Michael Brown — an incident that sparked many of the same complaints and frustration as the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore.
The president of Anne Arundel's Fraternal Order of Police lodge declined to comment Friday.
Still, Neuman said Davis handled himself well during controversies, including when an officer shot and killed a dog while canvassing a neighborhood during a robbery investigation. Davis didn't shy away from criticism and sought ways to improve his department's policing, Neuman said.
"He's as transparent as you'll find," she said.
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