On April 15th 0f 1880; Isaac Brown became the first Black officer appointed to the Denver Police Department, after voters in Denver petitioned city council for a representative city official. A second Black officer, John Bell was hired in 1881 and from then until mid-30's there had always been a "handful" of Black Denver Police Officers.
From the mid-30's until 1947: there were no Black officers, prompting Mayor Quiff Newton to approach the Black community and ask for new officers to apply. Hired that year were Verna Hudley (father of retired Detective Darold Hudley) and James Moore (father of current Officer Mark Moore). Casey Simpson was hired in 1957 and later became the first Black officer to attain the rank of Chief(Division Chief of Investigations).
Beginning in the late-1970's and commencing in 1981, a cohesive group of Black officers, including Kirk Dunham, Louis Ray, Laura Tinnin, and Pete Amory formed a support network aimed at helping its members contend with the many hardships commonplace in an environment dominated by white's. This group became the Black Police Officers Organization, which is now recognized as the third largest DPD employee organization.
Ron Thomas - President