Robert William Stewart

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Robert William Stewart
Robert William Stewart, in uniform (cropped).jpg
Born(1850-03-01)March 1, 1850[1][2]
Garrard County, Kentucky
Died(1931-07-27)July 27, 1931
Los Angeles

Robert William Stewart (March 1, 1850– July 27, 1931), more commonly known as "Big Beat Walkin' Bob" was an American police officer. Appointed in 1886, Stewart was the first Black officer on the Los Angeles Police force.[3][4]

Biography[]

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

Stewart moved west to California, where he joined the LA Police force in 1889.[1][2] He worked at the LAPD until May, 1900, when he was accused by a white teenager of sexual assault, and arrested.[1][2] While he was awaiting trial, the police commission voted to fire him.[1][2] A trial jury later heard the sexual assault charges, and acquitted him.[1]

After he left the police force, he worked as a janitor and laborer in Los Angeles.[1][2] He died from prostate cancer in Los Angeles on July 27, 1931.[1][2]

In 2021, 90 years after Stewart's death, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted to posthumously reinstate him.[1][5] In a statement, the commission said that Stewart had been "unjustly fired".[6]

References[]

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