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8/24/09

Green Bay Wisconsin Hires First Black Officer

It's been over 152 years since Green Bay Wisconsin had a black officer on its police force. Today, they welcome Solomon Ayres, pictured left, with wife. The police department has 177 sworn officers, that includes 15 women, four American Indians or Alaskan natives and one Hispanic.

Ayres will start the first phase of a 17-week training program this week. According to WKOWTV.com, Ayres "expects some resistance from both black and white residents but thinks his life experiences will help defuse difficult situations."

I'm sure he's faced a lot of opposition considering the fact that minorities make up only 17 percent of Green Bay's over 98,000 people...and that fact that his wife is white. I wonder if that had an affect on him being accepted onto the Green Bay police force, and what his experience will be like moving forward.

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