First Black police officer killed in San Antonio remains unsolved murder 80 years later
Julius Alberson, 29, was becoming a community leader, had a promising future
Andrew Wilson, Digital Journalist/Social Media Producer
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SAN ANTONIO – A Thursday night out on patrol alone ended in tragedy for San Antonio patrolman Julius Alberson on Dec. 4, 1941.
Within minutes, the “well-liked” officer, who was responding to a disturbance at a dance hall in the 500 block of East Commerce Street downtown, was fatally shot with his own revolver.
“City Policeman Slain at Dance” spread across the front page of the
San Antonio Express the following day. A revolver disappeared, 10 soldiers were detained and one mystery remained — who really pulled the trigger to kill Alberson, the local newspapers asked. The 29-year-old had only been on the force for nine months at the time of his death.