Remembering One Of Elmira's First Black Police Officers

[TTL News 307]

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Wilbur Reid’s home in Elmira was always full of family. But as he built his family legacy and made his mark on the surrounding community, he was alienated by some friends and colleagues.

“Being the first African American policeman in the City of Elmira was difficult,” said Reid’s son, Jamal Malik, who was a toddler when his father joined the police department in 1953.

Reid was the first Black officer to join the city’s police department in the 20th century.

According to the Chemung County Historical Society, although there was a Black police officer on the force in the 1870s, after he retired, no other Black residents were permitted to apply for a position at the department.

In 1947, the local chapter of the NAACP filed a petition with Elmira’s city council challenging the rule in the police and fire departments.

Subsequently, Malik’s uncle, Tommy Reid, became the first Black firefighter in Elmira, and Wilbur Reid became a patrolman.

“It was tough for them because, number one, folk didn’t want them there,” Malik said.

Reid said he largely got along with his colleagues in the police department, but did have to “get a couple of them straight” to the fact that he was a policeman, too.

While he worked the beat in many neighborhoods throughout the city, Reid was often pulled to respond to incidents in predominantly Black neighborhoods. The white police chief assumed Reid could better get information about crime there because he was Black.

 

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