When Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis came to Memphis two years ago, the city said her starting salary was $230,000, the same as predecessor Mike Rallings. 

However, Davis has received a total $50,000 raise in the past two years. She now makes $280,862.14, according to the city.

That figure puts her ahead of the police chiefs in similar cities such as Nashville and St. Louis. She also makes more than the New York City police commissioner and the Chicago superintendent of police. 

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Her salary has climbed as turmoil has roiled the police department during the first two years of her tenure. The U.S. Department of Justice announced a pattern or practice investigation into the department Thursday, July 27, following the death of Tyre Nichols in January. The city also faces a $550 million civil suit from Nichols’ estate and mother. 

Davis’ salary has climbed because the department’s command staff also receive the same pay bumps that the rank-and-file do. With the combined 19% in raises the Memphis City Council has passed the past two years, Davis and other command staff have also seen their compensation rise. 

Davis also gets a 7.5% salary bump because she graduated college with a four-year degree, which rank-and-file officers receive as part of the Memphis Police Association’s memorandum of understanding with the city. 

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Council member Chase Carlisle said he does not like the fact that command staff gets the same pay bump as the rank-and-file. 

He said the salary increases passed by the City Council are intended to boost retention of those who hold the rank of sergeant and below. 

“Anybody that is probably a colonel or higher, their pay should be commensurate with their performance, etc., like you would in almost a private business,” Carlisle said. 

Council Chairman Martavius Jones said he was not sure if Davis was worth the money and whether she should be paid as much as she gets. 

In the wake of the DOJ’s pattern or practice investigation, he said he wasn’t sure if the new chief, who came to Memphis two years ago, was the real reason for the investigation. 

“The jury is still out,” he said of whether she is worth the pay. 

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Makes more than other chiefs nationwide

Davis runs a roughly 2,000-officer department in one of the most violent cities in America. She makes more than chiefs in much larger cities, however. Edward Caban, the New York City police commissioner, makes $242,592. The department Caban oversees has 36,000 officers. 

The Chicago superintendent of police position makes $260,004. The city is in the midst of a superintendent search for the roughly 13,000-officer department. 

Davis also makes more than the Metro Nashville and St. Louis police chiefs, who make $257,000 and $275,000 respectively. Erika Shields, the Metro Louisville police chief, makes $238,277. 

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According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, $100,000 of Police Chief Robert Tracy’s $275,000 salary is being paid by donor funds, a tactic not dissimilar to when MPD officers were given $6 million in retention bonuses in private dollars early in Strickland’s tenure. 

While high among the major city police chiefs reviewed by The Daily Memphian, it is not the highest. 

Davis’ pay is less than that of San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott’s $289,205, according to government salary website Transparent California. Scott runs a police department in a city of 812,000 people and an officer force of about 2,000. 

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Highest-paid city of Memphis employee

Davis is the highest-paid City of Memphis employee. Other high-earners include: 

• Chief Operating Officer Chandell Ryan, $163,667 
• Deputy chief operating officers Antonio Adams and Dan Springer, $135,000 and $132,000 respectively 
• Former City Attorney Jennifer Sink, $145,230.02 
• Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, $170,817.12
• Strickland’s chief of staff Maria Fuhrmann, $115,118.12 

The data does not include what officials at Memphis Light, Gas and Water make. The city-owned utility has a separate budget and its salaries were not immediately available.