Robert William Stewart

Stewart was born March 1, 1850, into a Garrard County, Kentucky, slave family. He gained his freedom after the American Civil War.^[1]

Stewart moved west to California, where he joined the LA Police force in 1889.^[1][2] He worked at the LAPD until May, 1900, when he was accused by a white teenager of sexual assault, and arrested.^[1][2] While he was awaiting trial, the police commission voted to fire him.^[1][2] A trial jury later heard the sexual assault charges, and acquitted him.^[1]

After he left the police force, he worked as a janitor and laborer in Los Angeles.^[1][2] He died from prostate cancer in Los Angeles on July 27, 1931.^[1][2]

In 2021, 90 years after Stewart's death, the Los Angeles Police Commission voted to posthumously reinstate him.^[1][5] In a statement, the commission said that Stewart had been "unjustly fired".^[6]