In April 1992, Williams was credited with another first, when he was named the first black leader of the LAPD. Williams was appointed to succeed Daryl F. Gates after Gates was unable to restore confidence in the agency after the beatings of Rodney G. King and the riots that followed. Willie L. Williams was the first African-American LEO to become a high-level police officer for the Philadelphia and Los Angeles Police Departments. In Philly, where he served as commissioner for four years beginning in 1988, he was credited with the then new idea of adopting a community policing approach to law enforcement, promoting diversity in the ranks, and decentralizing the agency by establishing small police stations across the city. In November 1972, Ron Stallworth enrolled in the Colorado Springs Cadet Program, a program designed to bring more minorities to the department, he was the first black cadet in the program. Ron knew early on that he wanted to work on an investigation. At the age of 22, Stallman became the youngest and first black detective in the department. Stallworth was assigned to the ministry`s intelligence division. In 1978, he saw a classified ad for the Ku Klux Klan with a post office box. Stallworth, under the pretext of being a white man, sent a letter.
A week later, he received a call from the local organizer of the KKK section. Stallworth said we wanted to join CCC, he was allowed to enter; he had managed to infiltrate the KKK. However, a huge problem quickly appeared. Since Stallworth was black, he had to find a white “alter ego” partner; he recruited another white officer, “Chuck.” Stallworth continued to talk to KKK members on the phone while Chuck attended face-to-face meetings for months. As the covert operation continued, the team helped sabotage cross-burns, expose white supremacists in the military, and fight domestic terrorism. Ron also befriended and cheated on the great wizard David Duke. Although David Duke never revealed Stallworth`s identity, the investigation ended when the local KKK asked Ron to be their new organizer. Although he was willing to accept, the boss stopped the investigation and told Stallworth to stop answering calls, change the undercover phone number and destroy all reports.
A great film about this infiltration of the KKK – BLACKKKLANSMAN was released in 2018. The CSUPD wants to continue to celebrate Black people in law enforcement. If you have any additional premieres or more details about the ones we have, please contact us. David O. Brown, Eric Carter, and Barbara West In January 2020, the three senior officials of the Chicago Police Department (IL) were African Americans for the first time in their 185-year history. Superintendent David O. Brown was accompanied at the head of the department by First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter, a 28-year-old veteran. There are many more stories of African Americans contributing to law enforcement. If you find the time, look for other influential black biographies of law enforcement; You can start here: Macon Bolling Allen, James Wormley Jones, Grace Wilson, Jacob Chestnut, Samuel Battle, Bass Reeves, Georgia Robinson, Alexander Lucius Twilight, Wiley G. Overton, Horatio Julius Homer and Dr.
Louis Tompkins Wright. Congresswoman Val Demings currently represents Florida`s 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Deming received a B.S. in Criminology from Florida State University in 1979. She began her career in Jacksonville as a social worker, working with foster children. She decided to go to the Police Academy in 1984, graduated as a class president, and joined the Orlando Police Department. During her 27-year career in law enforcement, she has worked in virtually every department. In addition, she served as commander of special operations, where she was responsible for some of Orlando`s most high-profile tasks, including special events and protecting dignitaries. In 2007, Val Demings made history by being named Orlando`s first female police chief. Under his leadership, the Orlando Police Department has reduced violent crime by more than 40 percent.
The defining characteristic of a police officer is devotion.
