Douglas Imrie McKay (May 25, 1883 – September 24, 1962) was an American

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

and

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

officer and

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

police official who served as

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...

in 1914. His five months in office and eventual departure from the police force were fraught with controversy, however, his two-year campaign against the New York underworld eventually rid the city of the many street gangs active since the early-to mid 19th century. In the years following his retirement, McKay also had a successful career in business, holding high-level positions in a number of corporations. In 1926, McKay was charged with reckless driving which resulted in the death of Mary Stockstrom, mother of 4.

Biography

Douglas Imrie McKay was born on May 25, 1883, in New York City. He attended New York City College and graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1905 as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. McKay was of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

heritage. He became a coast artillery officer in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Adams, Rhode Island from September 1905 to March 1907 and then a month at Fort Caswell, North Carolina. McKay was promoted to the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

and remained at Fort Monroe, Virginia until his resignation on May 23, 1907.

Police Commissioner

When McKay was appointed

by reform mayor

John Purroy Mitchel John Purroy Mitchel (July 19, 1879 – July 6, 1918) was the 95th mayor of New York, from 1914 to 1917. At 34, he was the second-youngest mayor and he is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Mayor of New York." Mitchel is remembered for his sho ...

on December 31, 1913, who chose McKay the basis of his reputation, he was the youngest man ever to have held the position. He immediately went into action by initiating a sweep of Manhattan to clear out the countless street gangs, many of whose origins could be traced to the 1860s and earlier, then active in the city. He also made reforms within the NYPD, particularly concerning police corruption, which included "breaking" or demoting several high-ranking police officers. On one occasion, he demoted a police inspector to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and then suspended him for allowing

honky-tonks A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

to operate in the Tenderloin district. He also revived the

police lineup A police lineup (in American English) or identity parade (in British English) is a process by which a crime victim or witness's putative identification of a suspect is confirmed to a level that can count as evidence (law), evidence at trial. T ...

and used it with such success that it was kept by the police force on a permanent basis. In the aftermath of a gun battle that lasted nearly a half an hour in front of

Arlington Hall Arlington Hall (also called Arlington Hall Station) is a historic building in Arlington, Virginia, originally a girls' school and later the headquarters of the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography effort during Worl ...

, during which court clerk Frederick Strauss was shot and killed, Mayor Mitchell personally ordered McKay to "suppress the gangs at all costs". The previous order prohibiting use of

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

by Mayor Gaynor was rescinded. McKay immediately suspended the local precinct captain in which the battle occurred and sent in Deputy Commissioner

George Samuel Dougherty George Samuel Dougherty (April 5, 1865 – July 16, 1931) was an American law enforcement officer, private detective and writer. He was considered one of the leading detectives in the United States, first for the Pinkerton Detective Agency and t ...

with a squad of detectives who arrested over 100 gang members within twenty-four hours. McKay's tactics, although successful, were the source of frequent arguing and criticism between himself and the mayor's office. His militant attitude against the New York underworld concerned local politicians, particularly in

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

, who felt he was a political liability. A number of

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

also expressed concern over the commissioner's hasty actions. They also complained that his "sight arrest" orders, in which

loiterers Loitering is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a prolonged amount of time without any apparent purpose. While the laws regarding loitering have been challenged and changed over time, loitering is still illegal in various j ...

were subject to immediate arrest, filled up city's jails overnight. The situation created a serious problem by delaying the city legal system when many of these cases the charges would be dropped for lack of evidence. McKay responded by expressing a lack of backing from the city and that, in his opinion, his position was regarded by city officials as "the Mayor's secretary for police affairs".

Later career

McKay eventually left the police force after five months, his successor Arthur Woods carrying on his campaign against the underworld which ended in 1916, taking a position as vice president of J.G. White & Co. and become president of the International Pulverized Fuel Equipment Corporation in 1918. Upon the United States' entry into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, McKay returned to military service as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and was assigned as director of artillery ammunition production in March 1918. In August 1922, he was elected president of the Standard Coupler Company."Items of Personal Interest". ''Railway and Locomotive Engineering: A Practical Journal of Motive Power, Rolling Stock and Appliances''. Vol. XXXV. No. 5. (August 1922): 224+ McKay later returned to the police force for a brief time during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, serving as special deputy police commissioner and became the state commander of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

in 1928. McKay eventually entered the insurance business and, in 1935, he became president of the ''New York Title Insurance Company''. McKay later retired to

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, where he died on September 24, 1962. He was survived by his wife Pauline and two daughters, Mary and Patricia McKay.

Biography

Police Commissioner

Later career

References

Further reading