Horatio J. Homer

Horatio J. Homer (May 24, 1848 – January 9, 1923) was an American police officer. Notable for being Boston's first African American police officer, he was hired by the Boston Police Department in 1878 and served on the force for 40 years.

Early life

Homer was born in Farmington, Connecticut, on May 24, 1848, to Sarah Fields and Charles Homer. He attended public schools in Farmington until he was twelve.

He moved to Boston in 1873 and worked as a waiter, first at the Commonwealth Hotel on Washington Street and later at the Hotel Brunswick at Boylston and Clarendon. In 1878 he began working as a janitor at the Globe Theatre on Washington Street. Homer was appointed on December 24, 1878, by Police Commissioner Henry S. Russell. He was connected to Station 4, but spent most of his time guarding the entrance to the Office of the Police Commission in Pemberton Square. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant by Police Commissioner Martin on September 23.

In the course of his 40-year career, Homer saw Boston's police force grow from 746 men to 1,700. He met every president from Rutherford B. Hayes to Woodrow Wilson, and served as an escort for a number of foreign ambassadors. He retired from the force on January 29, 1919, at the age of 70. He had a remarkable and possibly eidetic memory, and enjoyed studying history, science, poetry, and languages, as well as collecting coins and creating art with cancelled postage stamps. He was an active member of the Fraternal Association, a charitable group of local black businessmen and civic leaders.

Memorials

Homer was featured in several Boston Daily Globe articles during his lifetime, but was largely forgotten by the public after his death. In 2010, his historic role was rediscovered by police archivist Margaret Sullivan and Boston Police Officer Robert Anthony, the Department's historian. Later that year, police and city officials arranged to have a headstone installed at his grave, Sgt Horatio J. Homer and his wife, Lydia, who, for the past 87 years rested in an unmarked grave and forgotten. They held a memorial service attended by over 400 officers. A plaque in his honor hangs at the Area B-2 police precinct in Roxbury.