Emil Harris (December 29, 1839 – April 28, 1921) was the only Jewish police chief in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California. He was also the second to have occupied the position since it was established in 1877. Harris was appointed to serve for one year from December 27, 1877 to December 5, 1878.

Background

He was born in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1869. He helped create the city's first

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond t ...

. He began a six-person

police department The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

where he quickly became a deputy chief. The

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-speaking cop became chief after his leadership in the Chinatown massacre of 1871. He was previously a detective who - together with then chief B.F. "Frank" Hartley and other officers - captured the horse thief

Tiburcio Vasquez Tiburcio, the Spanish form of Tiburtius, may refer to: *Tiburcio Carías Andino (1876–1969), Honduran military strongman *Tiburcio de León, Filipino general (the Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War) * José Tiburcio Serrizuela (bo ...

in 1874 at the present-day intersection of Santa Monica Blvd. and

Kings Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

. In 1879, he also became the mayor

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

of Los Angeles.

Resources

*"L.A. Then and Now A Forgotten Hero From a Night of Disgrace," Cecilia Rasmussen, ''Los Angeles Times,'' May 16, 1999. Jewish-American history Chiefs of the Los Angeles Police Department 1839 births 1921 deaths {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub