South Central TTA Team
TTA LIAISON: Assistant Chief Darnell Davenport (Retired)
Assistant Chief Darnell Davenport has 33 years of law enforcement experience. He served 31 years with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) before retiring at the rank of police captain. He then went on to serve as Assistant Chief for the Birmingham Police Department.
In 2018, Davenport was the first commanding officer to lead the LAPD’s Community Outreach and Development Division. This responsibility included expanding community engagement and developing new police public-private partnership opportunities.
In the Birmingham Police Department, he reimagined COMPSTAT, developing public-private partnerships, and changed the culture of policing to include enhanced professionalism, training, and accountability. Davenport has also led significant organizational change efforts in community policing, homeless outreach, and crime prevention and reduction.
Since 2022, he has worked with police departments nationwide on violence reduction, strategic planning, and community engagement. Throughout his career, he has served on various boards to enhance public safety.
Assistant Chief Davenport holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. He graduated from the FBI National Academy and is also the recipient of the Medal of Valor and a Purple Heart.
Analyst: Heather Perez
Heather Perez is a Training and Technical Coordinator for the School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University (MSU). Over the past 15 years at MSU, Ms. Perez has worked on the Project Safe Neighborhoods National Evaluation and Training and Technical Assistance team, Drug Market Intervention Training and Technical Assistance Initiative, Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, Innovations Suite Training and Technical Assistance team, various National Training and Technical Assistance requests and an international exchange with Chile. Ms. Perez has contributed to various independent research projects as well as served as a Department of Justice Peer Reviewer for eight years. In most recent efforts, Ms. Perez has assisted with the development of the Innovations Suite Researcher-Practitioner Fellows Academy, Violence Reduction Assessment Tool, and Violent Crime Reduction Course.
Prior to joining the research faculty at MSU, Ms. Perez has worked for the Institute for Law and Justice and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. With a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska Omaha, Ms. Perez has over 25 years experience with evaluation research and design and training and technical assistance.
