Robert William Stewart Explained

Birth Place:	Garrard County, Kentucky, U.S.
Death Place:	Los Angeles, California, U.S.

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 American 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.