Leonard 12X Weir

Who is Leonard 12X Weir?

Leonard 12X Weir is an American minister of Islam prominently noted as being the first Black Muslim NYPD officer and Founder of the National Society of Afro-American Policemen.

Weir was born in New York City on February 28, 1931. He was one of ten children. His father, Asa Moss Weir, was a laborer who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, West Indies. His mother, Rosa May Danielson, was born in Queens, New York.

Weir attended New York City public schools and entered the New York Police Department in February 1959 where he sought to improve work conditions for: Black uniformed officers, and the community at large. He worked as a Special Investigator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and as Special Investigator for the Knapp Commission where he investigated corruption in the New York Police Department.

In 1975, he changed his name to Humza Al-Hafeez and retired from the agency in 1976.