William J. Biggy (January 23, 1859 - November 30, 1908) (died in the
San Francisco Bay, near
Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
) was San Francisco Chief of Police 1907–08.
He was appointed Chief of Police by Mayor
Edward Robeson Taylor
Edward Robeson Taylor (September 24, 1838 – July 5, 1923) was the 28th Mayor of San Francisco, serving from July 16, 1907, to January 7, 1910.
Early life
Edward Robeson Taylor was born on September 24, 1838, in Springfield, Illinois, the onl ...
. Upon elevation to the position of Chief, Biggy declared, as do most new chiefs in San Francisco, that he would "clean up" the department. Declaring a "shake-up" the department has not experienced in many years on his first day in office. One of his first acts was to demote his predecessor, Chief
Jeremiah F. Dinan to the rank of patrolman. (New York Times, September 21, 1907 pg. 1)
The ''
San Francisco Examiner'' published on June 15, 1908 the following news: To curtail speeders, San Francisco Police Chief William Biggy orders his mounted officers to lasso drivers who break the speed law and ignore the demand to "halt."
During the
San Francisco graft prosecutions, Biggy was appointed Elisor by the court to hold
Abraham Ruef in custody, which lasted more than a year, first in the temporary "little"
Saint Francis Hotel and later in a house at 2849 Fillmore Street, after the sheriff and the coroner were disqualified.
After the non-fatal shooting of special prosecutor
Francis J. Heney
Francis Joseph "Frank" Heney (March 17, 1859 – October 31, 1937) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician. Heney is known for killing an opposing plaintiff in self-defense and for being shot in the head by a prospective juror during the Sa ...
by an excused juror named Morris Haas, embarrassed by Heney as an ex-con during jury selection in the bribery trial of
Abe Ruef
Abraham Ruef (September 2, 1864 – February 29, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician. He gained notoriety as the corrupt political boss behind the administration of Mayor Eugene Schmitz of San Francisco during the period before and after t ...
, Chief of Police Biggy endured public criticism for negligence for the fact that Haas had a small derringer and committed suicide under police watch. Upon falling out with the men supporting the graft prosecution, Biggy was placed under surveillance by detectives employed by
William J. Burns, a special agent to the prosecution.
Biggy went overboard from a police launch during a nighttime crossing of San Francisco Bay from
Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region
Africa
* Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco
*Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...
to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
after discussing his resignation with police commissioner Hugo Keil. His body was found floating in the bay two weeks later. Because Biggy, a devout Catholic, was considered an unlikely suicide, the Coroner's Jury returned a verdict of accidental death although many people believed that he had committed suicide and the death remains unsolved.
California Senate
Biggy served in the
California State Senate for the 21st district from 1893 to 1897.
References
External links
His death and Photo
SFPD: Chiefs of the SFPDat www.sfgov.org List of SF Chiefs of Police
Join California William J. Biggy*
Sources
Walton Bean: ''Boss Ruef's San Francisco'' - UC Press 1952 CA
1908 deaths
San Francisco Police Department chiefs
Democratic Party California state senators
19th-century American politicians
1859 births
San Francisco Board of Supervisors members
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