Charles Murrell Jr., the first black law enforcement officer in Colorado, died April 8, just days after his 87th birthday.
Murrell was the first black trainee of the Colorado State Patrol in 1953 and scored highest in the exams, said his daughter, Charlayne Murrell- Smith of Roxbury, Mass. But he never was admitted because of war-related injuries. Murrell-Smith said she believes he was kept from admission because of his skin color.
Later, Murrell went to the Denver Sheriff’s Department and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming division chief of staff training.
“Chuck always pursued justice and fairness,” said John Simonet, former Denver manager of safety.
Simonet served in the sheriff’s office with Murrell and said: “He always believed things should be done the right way and that inmates ought to be treated with respect and dignity. And he wasn’t bashful about speaking out, whether it was to colleagues or bosses.”
For a time, Murrell worked with the Model Cities program.
Through much of his adult life, he worked in insurance and real estate, was active in the Democratic Party and later was a lobbyist for the Denver branch of AARP.
Murrell was born in Denver on April 3, 1922. A graduate of Manual High School, he got a football scholarship to Clark College in Atlanta, but he had no money to get there, his daughter said.
So he got there by working with the Civilian Conservation Corps, often on road-building crews.
College was interrupted by World War II. He served in the Coast Guard and, after that, returned to Colorado and earned a sociology degree at the University of Denver.
Murrell had so many building projects going on at once that he had two workshops — one in his basement and another in his garage. He built furniture for his house and would repair the roof and furnace. He also made silver jewelry and fashioned his own leather belts and billfolds. He often wrote poetry, liked to hunt and fish and enjoyed gardening.
While on leave in New York City during the war, he met Bertin Hope Van Putten, and they married on June 12, 1946. She preceded him in death in 1994, and his son, Phillip Murrell, died in 1957.
In addition to his daughter, he is survived by sisters Ruth Marie Murrell and Laura Jean Paden, both of Denver.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
