by
Stanley Knox
Stanley Knox, who served in the Detroit Police Department for 28 years, and eventually became the city's 31st police chief, died Feb. 14. He was 85.
Knox took over as chief in February 1991 during a tumultuous time, replacing Chief William Hart who was indicted by federal authorities for embezzlement. Hart was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
"It was a trying time," said Adolph Mongo, host of the podcast, "Detroit in Black and White" who worked for Mayor Coleman A. Young when Knox was first appointed. "He was a cop's cop, serious minded. He had to walk a straight line after what the city had just gone through."
"His wife, Dorothy Knox, was a high-ranking police officer. She could have easily been chief, too."
Knox was also chief during a volatile time in the city when two White officers fatally beat Malice Green, an unarmed Black man during a confrontation in Nov. 1992. Tensions were high in the city immediately after. The two plainclothes officers, Walter Buzdyn and Larry Nevers, were convicted of second-degree murder and went to prison.
Knox retired as chief in 1994.
He was born in 1939 in Summerville, Georgia to Roy Knox and Doris Ludy Knox.
After joining the U.S. Army out of high school, his family moved to Detroit, according to an obituary on the website of the Thompson Funeral Home.
At age 21, after a three-year stint in the Army he married Dorothy Brent, and they remained together for 64 years.
His bio described him as a man of faith. After moving to Detroit in 1957, his family joined St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church in Detroit, where he became an active member, serving in the William M. White Male Choir, the Praise and Worship Choir, the Technology Committee and other ministries.
He ws described in his bio as "a true friend not only to his family but also to the buddies he made over time through work, church, and his community. His passion for motorcycling took him across almost every state in the country and into Canada, often with his wife, Dorothy, riding alongside him."
"He loved visiting national parks, exploring many of them on his Honda trips, from Acadia National Park in Maine to the Badlands, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Mount Rainier, and the Redwoods out West." He was also a skilled photographer who captured photos of his travels.
He is survived by wife Dorothy; his brother, Earl Hayes (Angie); several nephews and nieces and many cousins and friends.
A viewing is set for Monday, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. at the St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church, 11359 Dexter Ave, Detroit. A funeral service is set for Tuesday at the chuch at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
