Michael Cox (police officer)
Michael A. Cox Sr.[3] (born June 17, 1965) is an American police officer, currently serving as the commissioner of the Boston Police Department.[lower-alpha 1] He previously was the chief of police in Ann Arbor, Michigan from 2019 until 2022.
Michael Cox | |
---|---|
44th Commissioner of the Boston Police Department | |
Assumed office August 15, 2022 | |
Mayor | Michelle Wu |
Preceded by | Gregory Long (acting) |
Chief of the Ann Arbor Police Department | |
In office September 2019 – July 2022 | |
Preceded by | Robert Pfannes (interim)[1] |
Succeeded by | Aimee Metzer (interim)[2] |
Personal details | |
Born | Boston, Massachusetts | June 17, 1965
Military service | |
Years of service |
|
Rank |
|
Career
In 1995, while a member of the Boston Police Department (BPD), Cox was severely beaten by fellow officers while working in plain clothes.[3] The incident was initially "swept under the rug", but a lawsuit ultimately led to BPD settling with Cox for $900,000 in damages and attorneys' fees.[3] His story was the subject of the book The Fence, written by author and former reporter Dick Lehr of The Boston Globe.[4]
As of 2013, Cox had advanced to Deputy Superintendent in the BPD.[3] By 2019, Cox had advanced to Superintendent, the second highest rank in the BPD, serving as leading the Bureau of Professional Development and the Police Academy.[5]
In September 2019, Cox was sworn in as the chief of police for Ann Arbor, Michigan.[6] He served until departing on July 31, 2022, for Boston.[2]
In July 2022, Cox was announced as the incoming commissioner of the Boston police by Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu.[7] He was officially sworn in on August 15, 2022.[8]
Personal life
As of November 2013, Cox was married with three children.[3] At that time, an article in The New York Times about Cox's 1995 beating identified one of his children as former UMass Minutemen and New York Giants running back Michael Cox.[3]
Notes
- The police commissioner is a City of Boston position appointed by the Mayor of Boston; the highest rank within the Boston Police Department proper is Superintendent-in-Chief.
References
- "Meet the Candidates for Ann Arbor Police Chief". www.a2gov.org. City of Ann Arbor. May 6, 2019.
- "City of Ann Arbor Interim Chief of Police Named". www.a2gov.org. City of Ann Arbor. July 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- Pennington, Bill (November 16, 2013). "A Lesson in Perseverance for a Giants Running Back". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Lehr, Dick (June 15, 2010). The Fence: A Police Cover-Up Along Boston's Racial Divide. HarperCollins. pp. 356–. ISBN 9780060780999. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- Stanton, Ryan (July 1, 2019). "Ann Arbor council hires Boston cop to serve as new police chief". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Grant, Isobel (September 4, 2019). "Ann Arbor Police Department swears in new Chief of Police Michael Cox". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- Durkin Richer, Alanna (July 13, 2022). "Officer, once beaten by colleagues, to lead Boston police". Associated Press. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- Zokovitch, Grace (August 15, 2022). "Boston swears in new Police Commissioner Michael Cox". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 15, 2022 – via MSN.com.