CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY

The Howard County Police Department Centurions for Justice would like to highlight some of the people who have paved the way to increase opportunities for Black employees throughout the Howard County Police Department. That trailblazing began in 1968 with our first Black officer, now-retired Lt. Herman Charity, who helped open doors for many officers who came after him. Herman Charity, hired in 1968, was the first African American officer with HCPD and became the first black Corporal, Sergeant, and Detective. He retired as the Lieutenant of Internal Affairs and is still an active pillar in the Howard County community.​

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Lt. Karen Burnett became the first African-American female police officer in 1984. She retired at the rank of lieutenant in 2014 while serving in the information and technology division. Chief Lisa Myers was sworn-in as the first African-American and female police chief in 2019. She began her career in 1990 as a civilian crime lab technician and entered the police academy in 1994. She retired in 2018 as the captain of the human resources bureau and returned as Chief of Police from 2019-2021.