- 
      - **  Home
      - **   About Us
      - **  Publications
      - **  Archives

### Contact Us

To provide feedback on the Community Policing Dispatch, e-mail the editorial board at CPDispatch@usdoj.gov.

To obtain details on COPS Office programs, publications, and resources, contact the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov

**U.S. Department of Justice**                    Office of Community Oriented Policing Services                    145 N Street, N.E.                     Washington, DC 20530 www.cops.usdoj.gov

            - Home
            - About Us
            - Publications
            - Archives
            - Contact Us

###  A History of African Americans in Law Enforcement 

 February 2017 | Volume 10 | Issue 2

1867: African-American police officers are appointed to the police  department in the Selma, Alabama; they would be followed in 1868 by officers in  Jackson, Florida, and in 1870 by officers in Houston and Galveston, Texas.  

1870: New Orleans, Louisiana has 177 African-American officers, and three  of five police board members were African American.

April 12, 1870: Officer William Johnson of Jacksonville, Florida becomes  the first recognized African-American police officer killed in the line of  duty.

1875: Bass Reeves is appointed as the first African-American Deputy U.S.  Marshal.

1916: Georgia Ann Robinson becomes the first African-American woman  police officer, serving in the Los Angeles Police Department.

1928: Dr. Louis Tompkins Wright is the first known African-American  police surgeon.  He would later become  president of the NAACP Board of Directors.

1941: William B. Lindsay becomes the first known African-American state  trooper, hired by the Illinois State Police.

1966: Sheriff Lucius Amerson is one for the first elected  African-American sheriffs, serving in Macon County, Alabama.

1972: The National Black Police Association is chartered.

1976: The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executive  (NOBLE) is founded.

1988: Willie L. Williams becomes one of the first African-American police  commissioners. He serves in Philadelphia and would subsequently become the  first African-American commissioner of the Los Angeles Police Department in  1992.   

Approximately 58,000 African American Officers work in US Police Agencies  today.* 

* BJS  Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS), 2013. Other information  provided by the National  Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Museum 
Tweet

**Subscribe to Email Updates**
To sign up for monthly updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please enter your email address in the Subscribe box.

The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

The Community Policing Dispatch is the e-newsletter of the COPS Office. 

**Explore**
            - Home
            - About Us
            - Archives
            - Publications
            - Contact Us

**
Connect With Us 
**
Want to stay connected with the COPS office? Follow us on social media!
            - 
            - 
            - 
- 
- 
- 

             FOIA 

             No FEAR Act 

             Open Government 

             Plain Writing 

             USA.gov 

             Legal Policies and Disclaimers 

             Language Access Plan 

             DOJ Privacy Policy