Ira L. Cooper

Ira Luther Cooper ( – February 15, 1939) was an American police detective. He was the first African-American police detective in St. Louis.

Biography Cooper was born , in Mexico, Missouri, the son of schoolteacher E. J. Cooper.

On June 15, 1906, Cooper joined the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. After his training in 1907, he was named a detective. A skilled detective, he was named sergeant then lieutenant, in 1923 and 1930, respectively. During his time, he was the only African-American police detective west of the Mississippi River, as well as the first African-American police lieutenant in St. Louis. Reportedly, he solved every case given to him. He is buried in Washington Park Cemetery.

Cooper's legacy has primarily been driven by Gregory Carr, a faculty of Harris–Stowe State University. Prior to Carr, Cooper had a "dearth of information", with a 2018 article by the National Endowment for the Humanities saying he "doesn't even have a Wikipedia page". Carr produced a single-actor play about Cooper, and pushes for a street to be named for him, and for a statue of him to be erected.