The Seattle Police Department Community Service Officer (CSO) program began in 1971, in the wake of the civil unrest of the late 1960s and escalating tensions between Black citizens and the mostly white police force. The original program began with the hiring of twelve officers serving the Central District, with the program later expanding to serve the entire city. The CSOs are trained civilian liaisons between the community and the police department, responding to non-criminal calls and providing community service and outreach, such as helping individuals access essential resources like housing and health care.

Charles Sampson was one of the original twelve officers hired in 1971. The previous year, Sampson had moved to Seattle from the South, where he had witnessed and personally experienced the racial bias and abuse by white police officers against Black members of the community. This photo shows Sampson on the 25th anniversary of his service as a CSO. Sampson retired in 2009, after serving as a CSO with Seattle Police Department for 38 years.

Caption information source: "An unlikely officer marks his 25th year of service" by Kimberley A.C. Wilson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 16, 1996, p. B1.
Caption information source: "Community Service Officers," Seattle Police Department website, retrieved at https://www.seattle.gov/police/community-policing/cso. Retrieved March 13th, 2004.