Buffalo in the 70s: Fewer than 2% of city cops are black

By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo

Buffalo’s only black police captain — one of only 25 black officers in the city — said having more men of color policing the neighborhoods predominantly inhabited by people of color would help solve many issues.

In 1970, Buffalo had 1,400 police officers and 25 (1.7 percent) were black. Department of Justice figures say in 2013, Buffalo had 714 officers, and 29 percent (about 207) were minorities.

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.