The city’s survey dates Tyler’s first Black officers to the 1940s
The city’s 2000 National Register documentation says that in the 1940s the Tyler police hired its first African American officers, men assigned to African American neighborhoods, and that women officers and the department’s integration followed in the 1960s.
Note
No names are given. KETK has called Ira Brown Tyler’s first African American policeman; see his card.
Sources
- National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form: Historic and Architectural Resources of Tyler, Texas (Diane E. Williams, 2000; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.gov
the first African American males were hired for work in African American neighborhoods and the department came under Civil Service rules.
The hiring of female officers and the integration of the department occurred in the 1960s.
Checked October 15, 2026. How the cards are filed