SPECIAL HONOR
City of Troy honors its first Black police officer
Politicians, community members, and officers recently gathered at the Troy Police Department to honor and remember the city’s first Black police officer, Samuel Moses.
“If it wasn’t for folks like Sam Moses, I wouldn’t be here today,” Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello said. “He paved the way for so many people, not just the Black community but folks like myself, minority women and minorities all across the City of Troy and the Capital Region.”
After serving in the Navy during World War II, Moses and his wife, Gertrude, moved to Troy in 1948 and he began his service in the department in 1956. Moses also drove for the Capital District Transit Authority for 18 years. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 93.
Mantello said he was also a family man and members of the Moses family — 13 children, 28 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren — were in attendance for the event. One of his grandchildren, Nakia Sally, spoke to the packed room.
“This honor truly reflects the life that he lived so vibrantly and this honor not only provides comfort but also reminds us of the beautiful and meaningful life that he lived,” she said. “He often shared with me his memories of serving in the US Navy in World War II. He also shared many memories of serving as the first African-American police officer in Troy. N.Y., and he did so with much pride.”
One memory in particular,
After serving in the Navy during World War II, Moses and his wife, Gertrude, moved to Troy in 1948 and he began his service in the department in 1956.
that both she and Mantello mentioned, was when Moses took down two robbers. According to him, which set off laughs and smiles throughout the room, he took both down with a single shot that hit both of them and brought them in single-handedly.
Though they’ ll never know how true the story is, Sally said, all 28 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren had heard it. Mantello thanked them both for sharing the stories and for sharing Moses’s life with the city.
Kevin Pryor, Troy’s Diversity, Opportunity and Outreach director, also spoke at the event taking time to thank Gertrude who always treated him like her own whenever he saw them. It’s important to remind themselves of the village that lives on and exists in Troy, he said.
“It’s a beautiful thing, Mr. Moses being honored during Black History Month because we as African Americans need to see that and know that it can be done,” Pryor said. “I appreciate you guys for sharing your dad with us.”
The department had a few photos with plaques made of Moses’s police portrait that they gifted to the family and to the city to be hung in City Hall. They also had a larger one with some newspaper photos included that will be hung in the museum in the Central Station alongside several other artifacts from the city’s history.
Police Chief Daniel DeWolf said this was a fitting tribute, especially during Black History Month, and said this was also a little more special as he was high school friends with Moses’s son, Joe. It was a difficult time in the country for Black Americans, DeWolf said but Moses pushed through.
“Sam Moses persevered and took the very courageous step of becoming the city’s first Black officer,” he said. “It’s because of pioneers like Sam Moses that we now have a much more diverse police department that I am very proud of.”
Current Troy Police Captain Anthony Conyers said he has never been the only Black person in the police department and is thankful for it, knowing that Moses didn’t have that.
“There is no doubt that he faced unimaginable challenges during his career that I will never have to experience and there’s no doubt that Officer Moses opened doors for all of us that have followed,” Conyers said. He addressed the Moses family: “Please be proud that your family owns a piece of the history here at the Troy Police Department.”
He said he was honored to acknowledge him and commended him for having the courage to become a police officer, to walk through the department’s front door for his first roll call, and to respond to calls for service. Conyers thanked Moses and the other Black officers and detectives who had come before him.
“My grandfather was proud to have served the City of Troy and looking around I can feel so much love for my grandfather right now,” Sally said. “It’s comforting to know that others are remembering such a great man.”