Robert William Stewart Explained

Birth Place:	Garrard County, Kentucky
Death Place:	Los Angeles

Robert William Stewart (March 1, 1850– July 27, 1931) was an American police officer. Appointed in 1886, Stewart was the first Black officer on the Los Angeles Police force.^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Stewart was born March 1, 1850, into a Garrard County, Kentucky, slave family. He gained his freedom after the US Civil War.^[3]

Stewart moved west to California, where he joined the LA Police force in 1889. He worked at the LAPD until May, 1900, when he was accused by a white teenager of sexual assault, and arrested.While he was awaiting trial, the police commission voted to fire him. A trial jury later heard the sexual assault charges, and acquitted him.

After he left the police force, he worked as a janitor and laborer in Los Angeles. He died from prostate cancer in Los Angeles on July 27, 1931.^[4]

In 2021, 90 years after Stewart's death, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted to posthumously reinstate him.^[5] In a statement, the commission said that Stewart had been "unjustly fired".^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Dulaney . W. Marvin . Black Police in America . 1996 . Indiana University Press . 978-0-253-21040-1 . en.
2. Book: Hays . Thomas G. . Sjoquist . Arthur W. . Los Angeles Police Department . 2005 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-3025-3 . en.
3. Web site: Fortin . Jacey . A Black Police Officer Is Reinstated, 121 Years Later . The New York Times . 3 March 2021.
4. Web site: The Lost History of Robert Stewart, LAPD's First Black Cop . spectrumnews1.com . en.
5. Web site: Rector . Kevin . Police Commission reinstates one of LAPD's first Black officers, undoing 120-year-old injustice . Los Angeles Times . 24 February 2021.
6. Web site: Booker . Brakkton . One Of LAPD's 1st Black Officers Reinstated More Than 120 Years After His Firing . NPR.org . en.