He wasn't assigned a locker at the precinct, forcing him to dress at home and ride the New York City Subway to work in his uniform for three years.
Ward left the uniformed ranks to become executive director of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board in 1966.
Two years later he was named a Deputy Police Commissioner of Trials, serving as chief hearing officer in all departmental disciplinary matters.
Three years later, Mayor Edward I. Koch named him to the first of three posts in his administration: Chief of the New York City Housing Authority.
On April 14, 1972, Patrolman Philip Cardillo and Vito Navarra responded to a "10–13" call at 102 E. 116th St. in Harlem, which was a Nation of Islam mosque where Malcolm X used to preach.
Police eventually managed to break down the door and witnessed a man named Louis 17X Dupree standing over Cardillo with a gun in hand.
Ward's personal papers are housed in the Lloyd Sealy Library Special Collections at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.