Knoxville was one of only five Southern cities with Black police officers in 1910 | Booker

In his book, “Black Police In America” published in 1996, W. Marvin Dulaney of the College of

Charleston says that by 1910 African Americans had literally disappeared from southern police forces.

In that year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported only 576 Blacks serving as police officers in the United States, most of whom were in northern cities.

In the South, only four Texas cities – Houston, Austin, Galveston, and San Antonio – and Knoxville, Tennessee “continued to employ African Americans as police officers."

More by Robert Booker:In 1908, Knoxville had 'an electric car service second to none' | Opinion

Sign up for Black Tennessee Voices newsletter:Read compelling columns by Black writers from across Tennessee. 

Officer John Singleton was an intrepid policeman

Pictures in the book from the Beck Cultural Center show several Knoxville officers from 1884 to 1933.

Knoxville, indeed, had come a long way since it hired its first Black policeman in 1870 and forced him to apologize for arresting a white man.

It no longer was concerned that country people were afraid of being arrested by a Black officer. In fact, our newspapers began to extol their exploits in the line of duty.

One of them was John Singleton, a Knox County deputy sheriff before he joined the police force in 1908. His name appeared in the Knoxville Sentinel Aug. 31, 1908, when he arrested Robert Looney for shooting and killing Isaiah Thomas at a picnic in East Knox County. Looney had also tried to rob the concession stand on the site before his arrest.

Singleton was also noted in the Journal and Tribune of Sept. 15, 1914, as one of those arresting Ned Wilson, a fugitive of Bristol, Tennessee, wanted for assault and battery with intent to kill. After Bristol Chief of Police S. L. Odell gave up hope of finding the culprit, Singleton and officer B.B. Chesney found him in the First Creek area and took him to jail. One month later the Sentinel reported that Singleton captured three of the ten prisoners who had escaped from jail in Asheville, North Carolina and put them in jail here.

Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.

Sign up for Latino Tennessee Voices newsletter:Read compelling stories for and with the Latino community in Tennessee. 

Officer Ernest Scruggs was commended for his bravery

Not long before he died of natural causes, detective Singleton was involved in a shoot-out with S. L. Lockett.

On April 10, 1922, the Journal & Tribune reported that Lockett fired a gun five times at Jim Bacos and a girl walking along Central Street near Commerce Avenue when Singleton, Patrolman Dyer, and Ernest Scruggs, another Black officer, heard the shots.

Singleton pursued Lockett to another location and was fired on with two missed shots. Singleton returned the fire and hit Lockett in the leg.

Officer Scruggs showed his own skills with a revolver 25 years later at the corner of Vine and Central.

On Oct. 23, 1947, The Knoxville Journal reported that Roosevelt Moody was drunk and denied admission the Gem Theatre by Assistant Manager John Coffey. Moody was persistent and officer Scruggs was called to the scene.

The Journal said: "Officer Scruggs shot a knife from the hand of an advancing Negro without drawing blood, it was revealed in City Court yesterday. The Negro officer was commended by City Judge Charles G. Kelly for his quick action in preventing a possible murder or serious slashing. Moody of 113 Commerce Avenue, accused of bearing down upon Scruggs with the weapon was fined $50 for disorderly conduct."

Ninety-three years after hiring its first Black police officer, two Black policemen James A. Banks and Robert L. Bridges were promoted to sergeant Feb. 1, 1963.

Banks became the first Black lieutenant in the department Apr. 1, 1966. The 55 year-old had been a member of the force since 1946.

Robert J. Booker is a freelance writer and former executive director of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. He may be reached at 865-546-1576.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville was a rare Southern city with Black police officers in 1910