As we celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth, we remember and honor the first Black officers who served within the Durham Police Department. On July 1, 1944, Clyde Cox and James B. Samuel were the first Black officers hired by DPD to provide more police protection for the historically black Hayti neighborhood. They and the Black officers who followed were known as the “Hayti Police.”

While this was a pivotal moment for the Durham Police Department, the first Black officers were limited in their authority. In the beginning, Cox and Samuel were not given a police car, they could not carry a gun, and they could only arrest Black suspects.

Due to segregation laws at the time, not until the 1970s did AfricanAmerican officers become fully integrated into the department.

Today there are 89 Black officers who serve in various units and hold different ranks throughout the department. Five Black officers currently serve on Durham Police’s executive command staff, including Chief Patrice Andrews, who is the second Black female police chief to serve for DPD. The men and women of the Durham Police Department are forever grateful for the trailblazers who came before them and helped pave the way for other Black officers to come after them. #blackhistorymonth

Narrated by Cpl. Charles Strickland

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