Today, the City of Brockton honors Mr. Lemuel Ashport for Black History Month. Mr. Lemuel Ashport became Brockton’s first African American police officer when he joined the Brockton Police Department in 1888. A veteran of the Civil War, Ashport was the only Brocktonian to serve in the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first official African American regiments in the Union Army. Due to illness, he did not participate in the assault on Second Battle of Fort Wagner, the historic engagement depicted in the painting at the west end of City Hall’s Great Hall.
After the war, Ashport enlisted in the 25th Infantry Regiment, one of the regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers, composed of African American enlisted men in the U.S. Army. In 1870, he served for two years as a police officer in New Orleans before returning to Brockton in 1872. Over the next 28 years, Ashport held various roles within the Brockton Police Department and worked on several high-profile criminal cases. He died at the age of 59 as a result of injuries sustained in a fall down a flight of stairs. He is buried at Coweeset Cemetery on Pearl Street.
His obituary in the The Boston Globe recounts the remarkable story of his life and distinguished career. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-lemuel-ashport/86546353/