Kathleen O'Toole

Kathleen M. O'Toole (née Horton; born May 9, 1954)[1] is an American law enforcement officer who served as Chief of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) from June 23, 2014, to January 4, 2018. She was previously the first female commissioner of the Boston Police Department, when appointed by Mayor of Boston Thomas M. Menino in February 2004.

Kathleen O'Toole
O'Toole in 2020
Chief of the Seattle Police Department
In office
June 23, 2014 – January 4, 2018
Preceded byHarry Bailey (acting)
Succeeded byCarmen Best
Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate
In office
2006–2012
Commissioner of the Boston Police Department
In office
February 19, 2004 – May 31, 2006
Preceded byJames Hussey (acting)
Succeeded byAl Goslin (acting)
Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety
In office
1994–1998
GovernorBill Weld
Lieutenant Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police
In office
1992–1994
Head of the Metropolitan District Commission Police
In office
1990–1991
Personal details
Born
Kathleen Horton

(1954-05-09) May 9, 1954
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
SpouseDaniel O'Toole
ChildrenMeghan
Alma materBoston College (BA)
New England Law Boston (JD)
Trinity College Dublin (PhD)

On May 9, 2006, her 52nd birthday, O'Toole officially announced that she was leaving the Boston Police Department to move to Ireland. She was the first Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, established to ensure that Garda Síochána operates effectively and efficiently. The Inspectorate reports directly to Ireland's Minister for Justice and Equality. She then returned to the U.S. and took her position in Seattle. O'Toole also sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.[2]

Early life and education

O'Toole was born in 1954 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and moved to Marblehead at age 13 and to Boston, Massachusetts, at age 18. She resided in Boston from that time until she took a position in Ireland in 2006. O'Toole earned a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College in 1976, a Juris Doctor from New England School of Law in 1982, and a PhD from the Business School of Trinity College Dublin in 2018.[3]

Career

O’Toole began her career in 1979 as a Boston police officer. In 1986, she joined the Metropolitan District Commission Police, at the time led by William Bratton. In 1990, she succeeded Bratton as head, but she left this position in 1991 in order to become a security executive for the Digital Equipment Corporation.[4] O'Toole then served as Lieutenant Colonel of Massachusetts State Police from 1992 to 1994. While maintaining her sworn State Police rank, she served from 1994 to 1998 as Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety in the cabinet of Governor William Weld. She was then appointed to the Patten Commission headed by Lord Patten of Barnes which reformed policing in Northern Ireland and led to the formation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. In May 2014, she was nominated by Mayor Ed Murray to become Seattle's first female chief of police.[5][6][7]

Shooting of Victoria Snelgrove

While serving as Commissioner of the Boston Police, O'Toole was a central figure in the controversy surrounding the fatal shooting of Victoria Snelgrove during celebrations following the Boston Red Sox victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in Game 7 the 2004 American League Championship Series. During attempts to control the crowd that had gathered near Fenway Park, Boston police fired a "less lethal" FN 303 round, which missed its intended target and struck Snelgrove in the eye, resulting in her death approximately 12 hours later.[8]

While Commissioner O'Toole demoted Superintendent James Claiborne, who was not in the vicinity of the shooting, and suspended two officers involved in the incident, no prosecution or dismissal was brought against any officer in the case.[9] Investigations led by former U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley concluded that criminal charges would not be appropriate.[10]

Garda Inspectorate

The three-member Garda Inspectorate examines operational, investigative, managerial and policing strategies to ensure that these meet best practice. O'Toole's role within the Garda was to clean up the then-current scandalous conditions in the Gardaí. The Morris Tribunal pronounced that it was "staggered" by the level of indiscipline and insubordination in the force[11] and the Irish Government responded with a revised code of discipline. O'Toole served her full term of office and was asked to stay on until the new Chief Inspector could take up his position in July 2012.

Personal life

She is married to Daniel O'Toole, now a retired Boston police detective. They have one daughter, Meghan, who received her undergraduate degree from Boston College and her master's degree from National University of Ireland, Galway.[12]

References
  1. Williams, Jeanne C., "Googled: Kathleen O’Toole ’76, top cop", bc.edu, November 2004.
  2. "KATHLEEN O'TOOLE". States United Democracy Center. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  3. Murphy, Anne, "On her watch: The long, hot summer of Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole '76", Boston College Magazine, Fall 2005.
  4. Murphy, Anne (Fall 2005). "On her watch - BCM - Fall 2005". bcm.bc.edu. Boston College Magazine. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  5. Mayor nominates Kathleen O'Toole as next Seattle police chief - Puget Sound Business Journal
  6. "Kathleen O'Toole—A Law Enforcement Leadership Profile" (PDF). cops.usdoj.gov. United States Department of Justice. March 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  7. "Kathleen M. O'Toole" (PDF). City of Seattle. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  8. "Commission Investigating the Death of Victoria Snelgrove" (PDF). cityofboston.gov. May 25, 2005. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 25, 2009 – via Wayback Machine.
  9. Smalley, Suzanne (September 17, 2005). "2 suspended for Fenway shootings". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved March 15, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  10. "Investigative Findings in the Oct. 21, 2004 Fatal Police Shooting of Victoria Snelgrove". mass.gov (Press release). Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. Archived from the original on December 26, 2005. Retrieved October 26, 2005 – via Wayback Machine.
  11. Government Statement regarding Reports of the Morris Tribunal - Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dublin, Ireland. (archived 2007)
  12. Kathleen O Toole Director Report – Irish Company Info – SoloCheck
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