Rodney Demery is an American author, TV host and former homicide detective, currently serving as the chief of the Grambling State University Police Department.[1] He is best known for his role as the TV host and narrator on the Murder Chose Me TV series which airs on Investigation Discovery since 2017.[2][3]
Upon leaving the Navy, he served as an officer with, and then the chief of, the Beaver Falls Police Department in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.[1] In 1999, he resigned from the Beaver Falls Police Department to join the Shreveport Police Department.[6] In 2001, he was assigned to the Department's violent crimes unit as a homicide detective. During his career with the Shreveport Police, he worked on over 250 homicide cases.[7] In a 2016 interview with KTBS 3, Demery said his achievement in solving homicide cases resulted from personal encounters with violent homicides,[8] referring to his mother's murder and his brother Patrick's conviction for homicide.[9] He understood both the bereaved families and the suspects.[10][11]
Demery is S.W.A.T. certified and a hostage negotiator as well as having experience in undercover work.[12] As a homicide detective, Rodney Demery looked into his mother's homicide case.[13] He tracked down his stepfather and found him in bad health.[14][15]
Demery worked as a homicide investigator for the Caddo ParishDistrict Attorney's Office until July 2018,[16] when he resigned to focus on television and film projects.[17] However, on May 27, 2022, Demery was hired by Grambling State University as its new chief of university police.[1]
Politics
In 2018, the Shreveport Times reported he considered running for Shreveport Mayor.[18] In July 2018, Demery denied interest in local politics.[19] He confirmed a desire to become the chief of Shreveport Police,[19] with multiple 2018 mayoral candidates approaching him for the position if elected.[20] In 2018, Rodney Demery endorsed Lee O. Savage for Mayor,[21] who lost the election to Adrian Perkins.[22]
The crime TV show is based on detective Demery's work at the Shreveport Police homicide unit.[25] It highlights the homicide cases he worked on during the 14 years he was active.[26] The show was renewed for a second season on May 19, 2017.[27]Murder Chose Me was renewed for the third season on November 8, 2018[28] and is set to premiere in June 2019.[29]
Books
Rodney Demery has written two books on Amazon Kindle. His 2011 title, Things My Daughters Need to Know: A Cop and Father's View of Sex, Relationships and Happiness was an Amazon Bestseller when it was released.[30] Demery released his second book, No Place for Race: Why We Need to Address Economic and Social Factors That Are Crushing Us Every Day, in October 2013.[31] The book appeared on the 10 Best Black Books of 2013 list published annually by literary critic Kam Williams.[32] It has also been featured and reviewed on multiple news outlets throughout the United States.[33]
