Benjamin Ward

Benjamin Ward (August 10, 1926 – June 10, 2002) was the first African American New York City Police Commissioner. Early life Ward was one of 11 children and was born in the Weeksville section of Brooklyn, New York. He attended Brooklyn Automotive Trades High School, graduating in 1944. Drafted into the Army after high school, he served as a military policeman and a criminal investigator with the Army in Europe for two years. Career in the NYPD Ward entered the NYPD on June 1, 1951, as a patrolman, becoming the first black officer assigned to Brooklyn's 80th Precinct, where he faced resentment from both white residents and white fellow cops. He wasn't assigned a locker at the precinct, forcing him to dress at home and ride the New York City Subway to work in his uniform for three years. During the next 15 years in uniform, he rose through the ranks to lieutenant, serving in the Patrol Division, Juvenile Aide Division, Detective Division, and Legal Bureau. His rise was aided, in part, by his after-work studies at Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School (class of '65) that earned him undergraduate and law degrees—invariably with top honors.