The Police Department of Durham, North Carolina, is among the departments that have sent delegates to Israel. Jose L. Lopez served as Chief of Durham Police Department between 2007 and 2015, and attended a training in Israel with the ADL as a delegate of the National Counter-terrorism Seminar in October 2008. Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis has served as Chief of Durham Police Department since 2016, and attended a training in Israel while serving as Deputy Chief of the Atlanta Police Department.
Chief Davis helped launch the Atlanta Police Leadership Institute, established by APD Chief Turner after his return from a training in Israel. The APLI is modeled after the Israel Police Leadership Development (IPLD) Center, and works to prepare officers for promotional opportunities. The APLI hosted senior officials from the Israel National Police Department in 2014 and again in 2015 in partnership with GILEE.
A sustained grassroots campaign by the Demilitarize from Durham2Palestine! coalition led the Durham city council to ban future police exchanges with the Israeli military and police. Chief Davis issued a memo in response to community pressure and the city council’s deliberations, stating:
“…there has been no effort while I have served as Chief of Police to initiate or participate in any exchange to Israel, nor do I have any intention to do so.” – Chief C.J. Davis, April 4, 2018
The next day, the City Council unanimously voted to ban military-style exchanges with any country and became the first in the United States to do so, setting a precedent for other communities nationwide. Durham City Council issued a statement affirming its historic decision on April 5, 2018 saying, in part:
“The council opposes international exchanges with any country in which Durham officers receive military-style training since such exchanges do not support the kind of policing we want here in the City of Durham.” – Durham City Council, April 2018
