TPD officer arrested on charge he solicited prostitute

Tallahassee Police Sgt. Brian Davis responded to an internet ad for "Monday Madness with Molly" on March 27.

On Friday, he turned himself in at the Leon County Jail on charges of solicitation of prostitution.

Davis was found in the Days Inn on Apalachee Parkway around 1:30 a.m. March 27 with a known prostitute after authorities received a 911 call concerning drugs being sold out of the hotel room.

No drugs were found in the hotel room, according to court records, but the caller indicated that Davis and Afton Chewning, a known prostitute, showed him an ecstacy-like drug "Molly," while he was in the hotel room.

Davis remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of internal and criminal investigations, said TPD Deputy Chief Darrell Furuseth during a press conference at police headquarters Friday. Davis entered a not guilty plea Friday, waiving formal arraignment and demanding a jury trial.

The hotel room was rented under the name Keith Miller, who had warrants from Volusia County. When officers knocked on the door, Chewning, who now has a warrant issued for her arrest, answered the door naked, sweating and breathing heavily.

After she allowed officers to enter the room to prove there were no drugs, Davis came out of the bathroom sweating and breathing heavily to the extent the police officer asked if he was having a medical emergency.

Police found 12 used condoms in the room and noted that Chewning is known to use hotel rooms for prostitution, according to court records.

Davis, who was off duty and in civilian clothes, told police he had sex with Chewning but denied knowing she was a prostitute. He said their friendly relationship was sexual and he was embarrassed about being caught, according to court records.

An on-duty supervisor was called to the hotel, according to Furuseth. Officers left the scene after the initial investigation and notified TPD command staff.

Four days later, Chewning told investigators she was contacted by a phone number matching the "On Star" telephone number in Davis' black, 2013 Chevrolet truck, which was in the parking lot. She said she only knew Davis as the "556 guy," referencing the phone number prefix.

Police matched the phone number's locations with Davis' place of employment, home and the hotel the night of the incident and noted it had been called by Davis' personal cellphone and Chewning.

In January, Davis was put on administrative leave for firing into a moving car in pursuit of a man he believed to be a murder suspect near Myers Park. In late February, Leon County grand jurors found that incident justified but criticized the shooting.

Davis shot into a car when the occupants, one of whom he thought was murder suspect Deondrea Hudson, failed to follow his demands and he "perceived a threat." Kenny Sharpe, 21, was hospitalized with a non-life threatening gunshot after the incident.

Police later determined Hudson, who was indicted on first-degree murder charges in the Dec. 31 shooting of Godby High School senior Nickolas Doss, was not in the car.

Since he started at TPD in 1988, Davis has received glowing reviews from his superiors and the community. He volunteered in Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has been involved in multiple high-stress situations in Tallahassee where his attention to detail and valor have been lauded. Numerous letters from citizens thanking Davis for his work as an officer are included in his personnel file

In 1990, Davis saved a 6-year-old boy from drowning when the car the boy's mother was driving veered into a flooded drainage ditch on Orange Avenue. Davis dove into the water and pulled the boy, who was trapped between the seats, to safety.

His personnel file also includes several blemishes. He has been placed on leave three other times for his involvement in police related shootings. He has received several verbal and written reprimands for crashing his police cruiser and being tardy to work. He was also reprimanded in 2006 when he ran a license plate at the request of a friend unrelated to his work as a police officer.