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 {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Law enforcement in Los Angeles County is conducted by a variety of law enforcement agencies. State agencies *California Highway Patrol *University of California Police Department * California ...

force.

Biography

Stewart was born March 1, 1850, into a Garrard County, Kentucky, slave family. He gained his freedom after the US Civil War. 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 Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

in Los Angeles on July 27, 1931. In 2021, 90 years after Stewart's death, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted to posthumously reinstate him. In a statement, the commission said that Stewart had been "unjustly fired".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Robert William 1850 births 1931 deaths African-American police officers Los Angeles Police Department officers People from Garrard County, Kentucky 20th-century African-American people