I suppose this could be viewed as a Black History Month story, but I think it would work on any day.
It is about William O. Steam, the first black Denver police officer killed in the line of duty. Not a lot of people know this. Not even police or other city workers did until a few months ago.
No one knows just when Willie Steam arrived in Colorado, only that he lived in Denver with his wife, Lucinda, until his death. At the time he joined the police force, he was the janitor and night watchman at city hall, where his job included making sure the gas lamps did not burn down the building.
Black officers were a rarity in Denver in those days.
The few records that exist indicate Isaac Brown was the first black man appointed to the department on April 15, 1880, after black voters petitioned the City Council.
A curious bit of Denver history: From the mid-1930s until 1947, there were no black officers in the city. It wasn’t until then that Mayor Quigg Newton went into the black community to seek applicants.
But that is another story.
Willie Steam was hired in 1910 as a “special officer,” men used largely to fill manpower voids. He wasn’t paid as well as regular officers, who made about $100 a month to work 12-hour shifts six days a week, and so kept his janitor and night watchman job at City Hall.
In the early 1920s, he was assigned to walk a beat in predominantly black neighborhoods, keeping an eye on the dance halls, saloons and businesses there.
On Feb. 18, 1921, Steam was engaged in a card game at one of the dance halls on his beat at 2128 Arapahoe St.
“I’ve come to get you!” a man shouted.
Willie Steam, armed with his duty handgun, was never able to pull it from its holster.
An ex-convict, a man named Keil O’Neill, fired twice, striking Steam once in the back and once in the head.
Authorities later said the killing was in retaliation for Steam’s enforcing an ordinance a week earlier in which he shut down a dance at O’Neill’s joint because the man didn’t have the proper permits.
Willie Steam was 48 years old.
He was, according to then-Chief H.R. Williams, “one of the most dependable and efficient men connected with the Police Department. He occupied a place on the force that was unique, and getting another man to fill it in the manner which Steam did will be hard.”
Willie Steam was indigent the day he died. Homicide Detective Tamara Molyneaux, president of the Denver Black Police Officers Organization, said the chief raised the $125 to bury him at Riverside Cemetery.
On May 13, Willie Steam’s name will be etched into the fallen officers wall at the Denver Police Memorial during ceremonies at headquarters downtown.
It is a long-overdue recognition for Officer William O. Steam. Still in these times, in this city, the timing of the honor couldn’t be better.
Bill Johnson writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 303-954-2763 or wjohnson@denverpost.com.
