Michael James Todd QPM (10 August 1957 – 11 March 2008Michael Todd: The Times obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''. London. 12 March 2008) was Chief Constable of

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

from October 2002 until his death.

Early life and education

Todd grew up in Essex where he attended the

Billericay School The Billericay School is an Academy (English school), academy secondary school and sixth form college located in Billericay, England. The school is led by headmaster Patrick Berry and has an enrollment of 1713. As part of the Billericay Educatio ...

and later attended the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

. He graduated with a

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

degree in government in 1989 and a master's degree in

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

in 1994. The university named him the alumnus of the year in 2003 for his contributions to policing and the community.

Police career

Starting as a

Police cadet A police cadet can refer either to a trainee police officer or to a member of a youth organisation in which young people learn about and/or participate in law enforcement and police work. Many police departments in the United States offer polic ...

Todd joined

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...

in 1976. After progressing through the ranks he attained the level of Inspector via a management exchange programme with the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. In 1995 he was appointed Assistant Chief Constable of

Nottinghamshire Police Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands area of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million. ...

, initially managing support services and then operational policing. He returned to the

in 1998 when appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner and in 2000 he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner. Throughout his tenure as Assistant Commissioner he was responsible for Territorial Policing covering all 32 London Boroughs. He oversaw the policing of several high profile public events, such as the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

, the Golden Jubilee celebrations and the anti-capitalist May Day protests, for which he received a Commissioner's Commendation from then Commissioner John Stevens. In 2002, he was selected as Chief Constable of

, overseeing a City then notable for its extensive gang-related gun crime and a force with a record of poor performance, inefficiency and mired in claims of

institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...

. By the time of his death he was viewed as instrumental in improving performance, helping to dispel Manchester's "Gunchester" image and restoring his forces's reputation within the local community. In 2006 he became a vice-president of ACPO (

Association of Chief Police Officers The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...

), a post he held until his death.

Investigation of CIA extraordinary rendition flights

Todd investigated on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers the

extraordinary rendition Extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for state-sponsored Kidnapping, forcible abduction in another jurisdiction and transfer to a third state. The phrase usually refers to a United States-led program used during the War on Terror, which had t ...

flights conducted by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

to transport

detainee Detention is the process whereby a state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom or liberty at that time. This can be due to (pending) criminal charges preferred against the individual pursuant to a prosecution or to ...

Taser demonstration

Todd was a proponent of the use of the

taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...

and advocated for the weapon to be more widely issued to front line Police Officers. In 2005, in order to demonstrate that the stun guns were safe and effective, he allowed himself to be tasered on camera. After recovering he said "I was completely incapacitated, and if I was carrying a weapon there was no way I could have done anything, as I just couldn't move. And yes, it hurt like hell and no, I wouldn't want to do it again. "

Personal life

Todd was married for more than 27 years and had three children; a daughter and twin boys. His social interests included mountain biking, computer gaming and reading, particularly military and political biographies.

Death

After Todd was reported missing by Greater Manchester Police, rescue teams from

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

, started a search for him at 01:00 on 11 March 2008. After being alerted by hill walkers who found personal possessions, they found Todd's body in the ''Bwlch Glas'' area of

Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...

. The

post-mortem An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any dis ...

report initially found "no obvious cause" of death. The

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

into his death was opened and adjourned on 13 March 2008. One month after his death a public memorial service was held for Todd at

Manchester Cathedral Manchester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George, in Manchester, England, is the mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother ...

. The service was relayed live on the BBC Big Screen Manchester and to the

GMP GMP may refer to: Finance and economics * Gross metropolitan product * Guaranteed maximum price * Guaranteed Minimum Pension Science and technology * GNU Multiple Precision Arithmetic Library, a software library * Granulocyte-macrophage progenit ...

Police training centre,

Sedgley Park Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and south of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury. Historic counties of Eng ...

. On 6 October 2008, the coroner ruled that Todd had died from exposure, essentially freezing to death having been only lightly clothed on the slopes of Snowdon, and while "his state of mind was affected by alcohol, a drug and confusion due to his personal situation."

Post-death enquiry

Following Todd's death several allegations were made about both his personal and professional conduct. An enquiry undertaken by

Paul Scott-Lee Sir Paul Joseph Scott-Lee QPM DL is a retired British police officer who served as Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary and West Midlands Police. Early life and career Scott-Lee was born in Coventry, and educated at Whitley Abbey Comprehen ...

, then Chief Constable of

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, W ...

, found that while his lifestyle damaged the reputation of the Police Service it did not compromise the discharging of his duties as Chief Constable. He was also cleared of any inappropriate professional misconduct such as that relating to expenses, promotions and misuse of Police equipment.

Honours

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

References

External links

Obituary
in ''The Times'', 12 March 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, Michael J. 1957 births 2008 deaths People from Barking, London Alumni of the University of Essex Chief Constables of Greater Manchester Police Deaths from hypothermia History of Greater Manchester Assistant Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal People educated at The Billericay School