<Tr> <Th> Other work </Th> <Td> parole commissioner </Td> </Tr> <P> Samuel James Battle (January 16, 1883 - August 7, 1966) was the first black police officer in New York City . After attending segregated schools in North Carolina, Battle moved north, first to Connecticut, then to New York City, where he took a job as a train porter and began studying for the New York City Police Department civil service exam . He was sworn in on March 6, 1911 . </P> <P> He was born on January 16, 1883 in New Bern, North Carolina . </P> <P> His brother - in - law was Patrolman Moses P. Cobb, who started working for the Brooklyn Police force in the early 1890s before the unification of NYC and acted as Battle's mentor . "Big Sam" as he was known--6 feet, 3 inches tall, 280 pounds--earned the respect of his fellow officers after saving one officer's life in the early 1920s . They subsequently voted to allow him into the Sergeant's Academy . As the NYPD's first black lieutenant, during the intense Harlem Riots of 1935 - after 3 days of violence he circulated fliers of himself with the young boy smiling who had allegedly been murdered in the basement of the Kress Department store . </P>

When was the first african-american police officer hired in the united states