Street sign toppers unveiled to honor first Black Dallas police officer killed in line of duty

DALLAS - The Dallas Police Department honored the first Black police officer killed in the line of duty with the department back in 1896.

It’s part of the city's effort to install street sign toppers for all first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

What Happened Today:

The area at Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Boll Street in Uptown Dallas has been transformed over the years.          

Back in 1896, it was where Dallas Police Officer William McDuff lived and was killed in a targeted shooting on Christmas Day. Now, it’s the location of new street toppers that were recently installed to commemorate his life.

To help ensure fallen officers are remembered, the city of Dallas is installing street sign toppers at locations where police officers and firefighters were killed in the line of duty. 

On Wednesday, the city unveiled a sign to honor Officer William McDuff.

"Officer McDuff will be forever remembered on this corner," said Sgt. Sheldon Smith, president of the National Black Police Association – Dallas chapter. "This was the area where he had to actually serve.  African Americans couldn't go all over the city and police. They had special areas."

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McDuff was not only the first Black officer killed; he was the department's first Black officer. 

"He couldn't go anywhere in the city, and he had to police in this neighborhood, a colored neighborhood. He couldn't arrest white people. He was serving his community when it happened," said Smith. "He didn't get the training I got. It was, ‘Here you go. Put this on. Go out and be police.’"

The backstory:

McDuff was killed by two teenagers. He had arrested the teens the week before at a church where he was a deacon. 

They went out to McDuff’s home on Christmas Day where what’s now Woodall Rodgers and Boll Street and started knocking on the door. 

"He came out," said Interim Dallas Police Chief Michael Igo. "And that is when he was tragically killed."

McDuff was 63 years old. He has only been with the Dallas Police Department for two months.

What they're saying:

"His service was not just about duty," said Smith. "It was about setting the path going forward for other people of color and ethnicities to come to the Dallas Police Department and around the country."

Smith thinks McDuff would be proud of the progress he helped create.

"He would be humbled at the fact he could go anywhere in the city and police, regardless of what his race was," he said.

What's next:

The two teens were sentenced to 10 and 25 years in prison. 

The police and fire departments will continue honoring fallen officers with street toppers in chronological order.