Remembering the first African-American police officer in Fredericksburg
From Fredericksburg City Police:
The Fredericksburg Police Department celebrates #BlackHistoryMonth by honoring Charles Edward “Sonny” Dyson Jr., who became the first black police officer in Fredericksburg in 1956. At the young age of 22, Officer Dyson was chosen because of his experience in the U.S. Army and his temperament.
He came to the Police Department after learning counterintelligence, serving two special duty assignments at the Pentagon, and teaching at the Army Signal School in Camp Gordon, Georgia.
He later used his experience and entrepreneurial skills to start the first Police Boy Club, opened and operated Sonny’s Record Shop and Sonny’s Soda Fountain, and kept the public informed as a radio Disc jockey. He passed away in 1966.