Dave Toschi
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David Ramon Toschi (; July 11, 1931 – January 6, 2018) was an American law enforcement officer widely known for his efforts in the San Francisco Police Department as an
inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
in the
Zodiac Killer The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The case has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in American history. It became a fixture of popular c ...
case. His personal style was the model for ''
Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner ...
'' and ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates ...
''.


Biography

Toschi was born to the Italian-American family of school janitor Sam and Millie Toschi in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and was an alumnus of
Galileo High School , motto_translation = And yet it moves , type = Public High school , established = , faculty = , district = San Francisco Unified School District , grades ...
. Immediately upon graduation, he joined the
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, and became a member of the 24th Infantry Division, holding the
Pusan Perimeter The Battle of the Pusan Perimeter ( ko, 부산 교두보 전투) was a large-scale battle between United Nations Command (UN) and North Korean forces lasting from August 4 to September 18, 1950. It was one of the first major engagements of the ...
during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, honorably discharged in 1952. Returning to San Francisco, Toschi joined the San Francisco Police Department, where he served from 1953 to 1985. He was assigned to its homicide detail from 1966 to 1978. He is best known for his role as a chief investigator in the
Zodiac Killer The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The case has been described as the most famous unsolved murder case in American history. It became a fixture of popular c ...
case, which he and his partner, Inspector Bill Armstrong, began to work on after the murder of taxi driver Paul Stine. He was also assigned to the
Zebra murders The "Zebra" murders were a string of racially motivated murders and related attacks committed by a group of four black serial killers in San Francisco, California, United States, from October 1973 to April 1974; they killed at least 15 people a ...
team, and in 1985 received a meritorious conduct award for curtailing the career of a rapist/burglar. Toschi was well-known for his style of dress, including bow-ties, 'loud' plaid suits, bounteous curls, and exaggerated trench-coat at a time when investigating officers strove to look subdued ''"like G-men"''. In 1976, his quest for attention led him to send anonymous letters admiring his own efforts to
Armistead Maupin Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ) (born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for ''Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco. Early life Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Maup ...
, then a writer for the
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
; the revelation of that led to him being removed from the case in 1978 and being reassigned to the robbery detail. Toschi was also accused but later exonerated of writing one of the Zodiac letters, which the USPS crime lab verified as authentic but was later impeached by other experts; these suspicions ended Toschi's chance of eventually replacing SFPD chief
Charles Gain Charles Gain (November 1, 1923 – August 21, 2018) was an American police official, who served first as police chief for Oakland, California, then as chief in San Francisco in the 1970s. He was born in Hanford, California. In 1975, Gain was appo ...
. Shortly after he left the SFPD, Toschi became Director of Security for St. Luke's Hospital in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
's
Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...
, and later served the same role for San Francisco's Pan Pacific Hotel. Toschi was vice president of North Star Security Services in
Daly City Daly City () is the second most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with population of 104,901 according to the 2020 census. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its ...
. He was a technical advisor to the producers of the 2007 film ''
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
''. Toschi married Carol Bacigalupi in 1957. They had three daughters, Susan, Karen, and Linda. During production of ''Zodiac'', his family refused to be present or referred to in the film.


In popular culture

Harry Callahan, the title character of the 1971 film ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates ...
'' portrayed by
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
, was said to have been modeled on Toschi, while the film's villain—based on the Zodiac Killer—was called "The Scorpio Killer".
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...
specifically copied Toschi's distinctive style of quick-draw shoulder-holster (wearing his gun upside down) for the 1968 movie ''
Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner ...
.'' McQueen also claimed that he modeled much of his ''Bullitt'' character on Toschi. ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' crime reporter Duffy Jennings, however, wrote that while the film characters drew their swagger and style from Toschi's personal character, his professional style "was by the book, efficient and thorough." Actor
Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...
portrayed Toschi in the 2007
David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...
film ''
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...
''. In the film, the character makes an allusion to his popular culture reference by saying, "Easy ''
Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates ...
'."
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
included a subtle tribute in the 1977 film ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'', having Luke Skywalker “going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters”.


References


External links

*
Zodiackiller.com photo of Toschi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toschi, Dave 1931 births 2018 deaths American police detectives American people of Italian descent San Francisco Police Department officers Zodiac Killer