ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Public Information Office
2003 Mill Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
703.838.4636
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 10:30 A.M.
Alexandria Police to Honor First African-American Officer;
Reception for Retired Officer 40 Years After Historic Swearing-In
The Alexandria Police Department is hosting a special reception this Monday to honor its first African-American officer. Albert Beverly was sworn in on October 1, 1965, and in celebration of the 40th anniversary of this historic event, the police department will pay tribute to him with a reception and program.
The reception will be held on Monday, October 3, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the Assembly Hall of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial at 101 Callahan Drive in Alexandria.
When Officer Beverly, then 24, was hired there were no other African-American police officers at any of the major suburban departments, according to news reports of the time. He told the Washington Post that he did not want publicity and simply wanted to be “treated like all other rookies on the Alexandria police force.”
After nearly five years in patrol operations, Officer Beverly was partnered with Sergeant Ferdinand Plitt, a white officer, as the Community Relations Team. They focused on improving police relations with the community, especially with residents who were African-American. Officer Beverly, a native of King George Co., Va., retired from the police department in 1985.
The reception will feature remarks from current and retired police officers and an official proclamation declaring October 1, 2005, “Albert Beverly Day” in Alexandria.
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Officer Albert Beverly in the 1960s
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