I bet there are plenty of firsts when it comes to storied existence of the NYPD, the nation’s largest municipal law enforcement agency. One of those firsts belongs to a large-statured 6′-03″ figure by the name of Samuel James Battle, the NYPD’s first African-American policeman.
For clarity, there were black police officers predating Samuel Battle, all of whom were cops with the then-sovereign City of Brooklyn police force. Samuel Battle’s distinction is that he became the first black policeman when, in 1898, Brooklyn’s police department was incorporated with the New York City Police Department, otherwise known as the NYPD.
Battling his way in the world, Samuel James Battle was born in New Bern, North Carolina on January 16, 1883 at a whopping 16 pounds.
As a child, his hand was caught in the cookie jar. As an employed teenager, Battle was nabbed stealing money from the safe of his boss, R.H. Smith. Lucky for Battle, his dad was a friend who ministered to Mr. Smith. The matter was dropped; no larceny charges were pressed.
It seems the opportunity to make something of himself instead of thieving latched his brain cells. Reinforced by Mr. Smith telling him he is a predictable candidate for prison, another battle was born. He saw it differently. The true conviction of a man has nothing and everything to do with prison, depending on what one does with accusatory, ominous labels. Battle decided to use Mr. Smith’s burdensome assertion as motivation, as a springboard to make something of himself.
“That was the turning point of my life,” said Battle. “I said, ‘From this day on, I shall always be honest and honorable, and I’m going to make Mr. Smith out a liar,’ ” reported black history site Black Americans.
After some odd jobs without a definitive future or dependable status, Battle pondered applying to a profession he knew would guarantee a stable income and a foothold in steady work: Law enforcement.
And that is exactly what he did for the remainder of his life, despite racial barriers and the discriminatory practices worming through the Big Apple.
From birth and throughout adulthood, Battle is what one may call an “imposing figure.” Joining the largest municipal, all-white cop shop in the world testifies to the fact that Battle was undeterred.
According to the Brooklyn Historical Society, in 1911 Samuel Battle became the first black police officer in the city that never sleeps. Per Blackpast.org, Battle “ranked 119th out of 638 on his police test and officially joined the force June 28, 1911 at the age of 28.” He broke the proverbial “color barrier” and went on to fill a life-long duty to citizens of the Big Apple.
Picking Battles
Back then, the tides didn’t turn rapidly enough to what we see on the shores today. But there were ripples in the water. A testament to this historical diatribe was published by Blackpast: “Battle endured discrimination and mistreatment while on the force from white civilians who traveled to Harlem to watch him work, as well as from the other white officers who refused to speak to him. Once, he found a note on his bunk filled with racially charged and threatening language that had a hole the size of a bullet.”
Some folks call him “a pioneer” for paving the way for people of color. Others herald his champion spirit during difficult periods throughout history. In his book, author Arthur Browne called him “One Righteous Man” followed by Ken Burns’ synopsis, “The magnificent –and moving– story of the first black New York City cop…forming a tragic but ultimately heroic understanding of the inner workings of the greatest city on earth.”
Indeed, desegregation played an antagonistic role in the life and police times of Sam Battle. Retrospectively, he examines moments of solitude at police HQ, when his white counterparts reportedly went out of their way to ostracize a man because of his pigment.
But that very same pigmentation is a key to much race-relation championing. “Some of the officers soon realized that Battle would be an asset in patrolling the Harlem community. In 1943 during the Harlem Riot, Battle was called by New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to help defuse tensions in the community,” reported Blackpast.
“When I was transferred to Harlem, I found that, of course, the white officers worked in an all-Negro neighborhood, practicaly, and they needed me as much as I needed them and sometimes more because some of them were on posts where there were all Negroes,” Battle described in an interview in 1960.
Indeed, the tides do turn. New York City government pitched a bill and received approval to change the intersection of West 135th Street and Lenox Avenue to “Samuel J. Battle Plaza” extending public recognition for his police relations achievements. But NYC did merely delve into its bag of hospitality for that street-sign cause. A fusion of tragedy/triumph occurred there: Samuel J. Battle Plaza signs mark the massive four-way street “where Battle saved a white officer’s life during a racial skirmish in 1919.”
In historical context, both cops –one black and the other white– were in crosshairs. The perils were and still are, to some extent, real.
“Thank God our new president is backing our policemen and military. This man was lucky not to be killed in those times. Terrible. We still have a long way to go,” wrote Dot Davis Dougherty on Facebook. I agree with Ms. Dougherty’s statement, yet I wonder how over- or under-defined “a long way to go” truly is nowadays.
The mark of a man does not necessarily come in ways some may or may not choose to recognize, but indelibly in what he did for fellow man…having nothing to do with skin tone. Battle was not so embattled by his white peers to turn away from a light-complected man’s demise. No, he did what was right, what was just. And just like that he exhibited his rightful place among New York’s Finest, eight years after having joined the non-diverse department.
The #NYPD celebrates #BlackHistoryMonth @NYPDFIRSTDEP Tucker honors Samuel Battle, the #NYPD's first African American Police Officer, Sergeant & Lieutenant pic.twitter.com/500cs5O5Bv
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) February 22, 2018
One of New York’s finest is perhaps the finest source to colorize his life in the NYPD. “I guess I’ve always wanted to be large, and I have been large,” Samuel Battle would say in his later years. Indeed, he is monumental.
In August 2009, the New York Daily News printed the following comparison accolade: “Samuel battle was the Jackie Robinson of the NYPD.” Akin to Jackie Robinson, he “endured racism, hazing, the silent treatment and threats.” It didn’t stop his forward motion, though.
Mr. Battle retired from the NYPD in 1951, recording the highest-ranking African-American cop on the NYC police force at the time. Lt. Samuel Battle also served as the Parole Commissioner before revisiting civilian life. He was buried in August 1966…but his 83 years of wisdom carry forth.
