Ex-officer recalled as pioneer

William Minor was a rookie Las Vegas police officer in 1990 when he was told to go speak with a lieutenant because he and a field trainer had disagreed about his decision to not arrest a suspect.

Minor, now a captain with the department, recalled Thursday that he was nervous about his meeting with then-Lt. Clifton Davis Jr., an imposing figure who stood 6 foot 1 inch tall and weighed about 275 pounds. Minor thought he was going to be reprimanded, but Davis, known as "Cliff" or "Boo" to friends, surprised him.

"He told me he had to shake the hand of someone who stood up when he saw something was wrong," Minor said, choking back tears. "From that day on, we were friends."

Davis might have been the first black man hired by what was then the Clark County Sheriff's Department -- in 1969. He died from a long-term illness Aug. 5 in his hometown of Shreveport, La. He was 64.

Davis was promoted to deputy chief in 2003, and police said he was the second black man in the history of the Metropolitan Police Department to reach the rank, now the fourth-highest rank within the department. He followed Larry Bolden, who achieved that rank in 1979.

Davis joined the Las Vegas police in 1973 when the agency merged with the county's sheriff's department, and he retired in 2005.

Minor said Davis was a guy who "tried to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons."

Jerry Keller, Clark County's sheriff from 1995 to 2003, said he and Davis trained at the same police academy in 1969. At that time, Keller said, the sheriff's department had about 200 workers. Davis might well have been Clark County's first black deputy, he said.

Keller recalled that even in that tumultuous era, Davis always put law enforcement first.

"Cliff never used his race," Keller said. "He was just another guy who was a good guy doing a great job."

Keller didn't hesitate to call him a pioneer.

'He was the point of a spear, and a mentor, to those young African-American officers who came on the department of what had been a pretty white organization," Keller said.

Keller said Davis was never shy about passing on the views of black workers or the black community on hot-button issues.

"He was always willing to tell me how it was, and I appreciated that," Keller said.

Davis was born in Shreveport on April 11, 1946, and graduated from Notre Dame High School there in 1963.

He attended Southern University, where he played football and was a pre-med major. In 1965, he moved to Southern Nevada and attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, for several years.

According to biographical information from Las Vegas police, Davis enjoyed traveling, participating in energetic conversations with his friends and loved spending time with his granddaughters.

He is survived by his mother, Ida T. Davis; brother, Deacon Ronald F. Davis; daughter, LaMadrid Marquez; and granddaughters Savannah Marquez and Johnetta England-Maine.

Davis' viewing will be held tonight in Shreveport. His funeral, also in Shreveport, will be Saturday.