John Dale was appointed Albany’s first Black police chief in 1989 after serving in the department for 31 years, joining a predominately white police force in 1958.

Dale was also the department’s first Black detective and supervisor, and he was the department’s first ever public information officer.

He passed away in 2014 at the age of 80.

Learn about some of the changes he made, which are still having an impact today, by watching the video of Faith King’s story.