Benjamin Ward
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Ward was the first African American
New York City Police Commissioner
. Ward was one of 11 children and was born in the Weeksville section of Brooklyn, New York.
after graduating Brooklyn Automotive Trades High School in 1944, he served as an military police
man and a criminal investigator with the Army
in Europe
for two years.
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 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
that earned him undergraduate and law degrees—invariably with top honors.
He eventually served as special legal counsel to Police Commissioner Howard R. Leary. Ben left the uniformed ranks to become executive director of NYPD's Civilian Complaint Review Board
in 1966.
Two years later he was named a Deputy Police Commissioner, serving as chief hearing officer in all departmental disciplinary matters.
Later he became Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs with responsibilities for the Youth Aid Division and the Auxiliary Forces Section.
, which was a Nation of Islam
mosque where Malcolm X
used to preach. Upon arriving inside, they were ambushed by 15 to 20 men, one of whom, according to the ballistics report, shot Cardillo at point blank range. Most of the police were forced out of the mosque and locked out, leaving a dying Cardillo and officers Victor Padilla and Ivan Negron locked from within.
Police eventually managed to break down the door and witnessed a man named Louis 17X Dupree standing over Cardillo with a gun in hand. Before Dupree could be taken into custody, however, Louis Farrakhan
and Charles Rangel arrived at the scene, threatening a riot if Dupree was not released. Just as the police forensics unit was about to seal off the crime scene, they were ordered out of the mosque by the police brass. Outside a mob had overrun the street and overturned a police cruiser, shouting, "I hope you die you pigs. I hope you drop dead." (Cannato pp.485–486)
One of the officials who reportedly hampered the ballistics investigation was Benjamin Ward. Ward supposedly ordered all white police officers away from the scene, acquiescing to the demands of Farrakhan and Rangel. (Cannato p.487) He was reported to have released the 16 suspects, an action for which he was later criticized by a grand jury. He also apologized to the minister, Louis Farrakhan, for violating an agreement that the police would not enter the mosque. However, documents released a decade later prove conclusively that the person responsible for the police withdrawal was NYPD Chief of Detectives Albert Seedman. In 1983, Chief Seedman confirmed that he was the one who issued the order, not Benjamin Ward.
in 1973. Under his leadership, uniformed traffic controllers from his agency took on street duties, thereby freeing hundreds of police officers from traffic direction posts. The following year he headed up what is now known as the Criminal Justice Agency that performs a bail risk evaluations.
In 1975, Governor Hugh L. Carey named him New York State Department of Correctional Services
Commissioner, heading one of the nation's largest prisons systems, with 20,000 inmates, 20,000 parolees and 12,000 employees. He was the first African American to hold that position.
Three years later, Mayor Edward I. Koch named him to the first of three posts in his administration: Chief of the New York City Housing Authority Police
. It was the fifth largest police department in the state, providing protection to 600,000 in the HA's 254 developments.
On August 13, 1979, he was designated to run the New York City Correction Department
, heading the largest municipal detention system in the world. He served as commissioner until December 31, 1983, when he accepted an appointment by Koch as New York City Police Commissioner.
Ward was sworn in by Mayor Koch as the city’s 34th Police Commissioner on January 5, 1984. He was the first African American
to hold that position. Ward oversaw the nation's largest police department during the rise of the crack cocaine
epidemic and a sharp increase in crime and murder. Ward's tenure also coincided with a period of gentrification
culminating in the Tompkins Square Park Police Riot of 1988.
Ward was, unintentionally, responsible for the New York City Pistol Licensing Section having to license the then-controversial Glock
handguns when it was revealed on September 29, 1988 that he had a Model 17 Glock on his own license… while he had been a Member of the Service, as Police Commissioner he was a civilian, and his having a licensed Glock was in conflict with the Pistol Licensing Section's policy.
It was also a period of racial unrest, marked by the shooting of four black men by white subway gunman Bernhard Goetz
, the police shooting of an elderly black woman
, the death of a black man chased by a white gang onto a highway, and the fatal shooting of a black youth by a white mob
.
He served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, an Adjunct Professor of Corrections at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
, and an adjunct professor of the Hudson Valley Community College
in Troy
.
principal; three daughters, Jacquelyn Ward, Margie Ward-Lewis and Mary Ward; two sons, Benjamin Jr. and Gregory; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
New York City Police Commissioner
New York City Police Commissioner
The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department, appointed by the Mayor of New York City. Governor Theodore Roosevelt, in one of his final acts before becoming Vice President of the United States in March 1901, signed legislation replacing the Police Board...
. Ward was one of 11 children and was born in the Weeksville section of Brooklyn, New York.
Military and Police experience
Drafted into the ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
after graduating Brooklyn Automotive Trades High School in 1944, he served as an military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
man and a criminal investigator with the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for two years.
Ward entered the NYPD on June 1, 1951 as a patrolman
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, 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 subway to work in his uniform for three years.
During the next 15 years in uniform, he rose through the ranks to Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, 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
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
and Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School is a law school located in Brooklyn Heights, in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.-History:Founded in 1901 by William Payson Richardson and Norman P. Heffley, Brooklyn Law School was the first law school on Long Island. Using space provided by Heffley’s business school, the law...
that earned him undergraduate and law degrees—invariably with top honors.
He eventually served as special legal counsel to Police Commissioner Howard R. Leary. Ben left the uniformed ranks to become executive director of NYPD's Civilian Complaint Review Board
Civilian Complaint Review Board
The Civilian Complaint Review Board is an all-civilian board tasked with investigating civil complaints about alleged misconduct on the part of the New York Police Department.- History :...
in 1966.
Two years later he was named a Deputy Police Commissioner, serving as chief hearing officer in all departmental disciplinary matters.
Later he became Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs with responsibilities for the Youth Aid Division and the Auxiliary Forces Section.
Ward's involvement with the cover-up at Harlem Mosque #7
On April 14, 1972, Patrolman Philip Cardillo and Vito Navarra responded to a "10-13" call at 102 East 116th Street in HarlemHarlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, which was a Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
mosque where Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
used to preach. Upon arriving inside, they were ambushed by 15 to 20 men, one of whom, according to the ballistics report, shot Cardillo at point blank range. Most of the police were forced out of the mosque and locked out, leaving a dying Cardillo and officers Victor Padilla and Ivan Negron locked from within.
Police eventually managed to break down the door and witnessed a man named Louis 17X Dupree standing over Cardillo with a gun in hand. Before Dupree could be taken into custody, however, Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
and Charles Rangel arrived at the scene, threatening a riot if Dupree was not released. Just as the police forensics unit was about to seal off the crime scene, they were ordered out of the mosque by the police brass. Outside a mob had overrun the street and overturned a police cruiser, shouting, "I hope you die you pigs. I hope you drop dead." (Cannato pp.485–486)
One of the officials who reportedly hampered the ballistics investigation was Benjamin Ward. Ward supposedly ordered all white police officers away from the scene, acquiescing to the demands of Farrakhan and Rangel. (Cannato p.487) He was reported to have released the 16 suspects, an action for which he was later criticized by a grand jury. He also apologized to the minister, Louis Farrakhan, for violating an agreement that the police would not enter the mosque. However, documents released a decade later prove conclusively that the person responsible for the police withdrawal was NYPD Chief of Detectives Albert Seedman. In 1983, Chief Seedman confirmed that he was the one who issued the order, not Benjamin Ward.
Career in New York City and State Government
Mayor John V. Lindsay designated Ward as Traffic CommissionerNew York City Department of Transportation
The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure...
in 1973. Under his leadership, uniformed traffic controllers from his agency took on street duties, thereby freeing hundreds of police officers from traffic direction posts. The following year he headed up what is now known as the Criminal Justice Agency that performs a bail risk evaluations.
In 1975, Governor Hugh L. Carey named him New York State Department of Correctional Services
New York State Department of Correctional Services
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or NYSDOCCS is the agency of New York State responsible for the care, confinement, and rehabilitation of approximately 63,000 inmates at 71 correctional facilities funded by the State of New York. The department employs...
Commissioner, heading one of the nation's largest prisons systems, with 20,000 inmates, 20,000 parolees and 12,000 employees. He was the first African American to hold that position.
Three years later, Mayor Edward I. Koch named him to the first of three posts in his administration: Chief of the New York City Housing Authority Police
New York City Housing Authority
The New York City Housing Authority provides public housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments...
. It was the fifth largest police department in the state, providing protection to 600,000 in the HA's 254 developments.
On August 13, 1979, he was designated to run the New York City Correction Department
New York City Department of Correction
The New York City Department of Correction is responsible for New York City's inmates, housing the majority of them on Rikers Island. It employs 9,500 uniformed officers and 1,400 civilian staff, has 543 vehicles, and processes over 100,000 new inmates every year, retaining a population of inmates...
, heading the largest municipal detention system in the world. He served as commissioner until December 31, 1983, when he accepted an appointment by Koch as New York City Police Commissioner.
Ward was sworn in by Mayor Koch as the city’s 34th Police Commissioner on January 5, 1984. He was the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
to hold that position. Ward oversaw the nation's largest police department during the rise of the crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
epidemic and a sharp increase in crime and murder. Ward's tenure also coincided with a period of gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
culminating in the Tompkins Square Park Police Riot of 1988.
Ward was, unintentionally, responsible for the New York City Pistol Licensing Section having to license the then-controversial Glock
Glock
Glock Ges.m.b.H. is a weapons manufacturer headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, named after its founder, Gaston Glock...
handguns when it was revealed on September 29, 1988 that he had a Model 17 Glock on his own license… while he had been a Member of the Service, as Police Commissioner he was a civilian, and his having a licensed Glock was in conflict with the Pistol Licensing Section's policy.
It was also a period of racial unrest, marked by the shooting of four black men by white subway gunman Bernhard Goetz
Bernhard Goetz
Bernhard Goetz is an American man best known for shooting four young African American men who tried to mug him on a New York City Subway train, resulting in his conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. He came to symbolize New Yorkers’ frustrations with the high crime rates of the early...
, the police shooting of an elderly black woman
Eleanor Bumpurs
Eleanor Bumpurs was an African-American woman who was shot dead on October 29, 1984, by police officers called to assist her city-ordered eviction from her apartment in the Bronx. The New York City Housing Authority was evicting her because she was four months behind in her rent of $96.85 per month...
, the death of a black man chased by a white gang onto a highway, and the fatal shooting of a black youth by a white mob
Yusef Hawkins
Yusef Hawkins was a 16-year-old African American youth who was shot to death on August 23, 1989 in Bensonhurst, a heavily Italian American working-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn...
.
Life after retirement
Ward retired as NYC Police Commissioner on October 22, 1989. After his retirement, he remained active, teaching and serving on various boards until failing health forced him to curtail such endeavors.He served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, an Adjunct Professor of Corrections at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a senior college of the City University of New York in Midtown Manhattan, New York City and is the only liberal arts college with a criminal justice and forensic focus in the United States. The college offers programs in Forensic Science and Forensic...
, and an adjunct professor of the Hudson Valley Community College
Hudson Valley Community College
Hudson Valley Community College, a SUNY associated two-year college, is located in Troy in Rensselaer County, New York. Although about eighty percent of the students are from the local area, the remainder are from other parts of New York, other states and from some 30 countries around the...
in Troy
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
.
Death
Benjamin Ward died on June 10, 2002 at the age of 75. He was survived by his wife, the former Olivia Irene Tucker, a retired public schoolNew York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
principal; three daughters, Jacquelyn Ward, Margie Ward-Lewis and Mary Ward; two sons, Benjamin Jr. and Gregory; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
See also
- Tompkins Square Park Police Riot
Further reading
- Cannato, Vincent J. "The Ungovernable City: John Lindsay and His Struggle to Save New York". New York: Basic Books, 2001. 703 pages. (ISBN 0465008437)
- Jurgensen, Randy, and Robert Cea. "Circle of Six: The True Story of New York's Most Notorious Cop-Killer And the Cop Who Risked Everything to Catch Him". New York: Disinformation Co.; London: Virgin [distributor], 2006. 256 pages. (ISBN 1932857397)