Pedro Toledo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pedro Toledo Dávila (1943December 23, 2012) was a former superintendent of the
Puerto Rico Police The Puerto Rico Police Department ( es, Policía de Puerto Rico), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a division of the Puerto Rico Department ...
. He served for two non-consecutive terms under two different administrations. Toledo was a former attorney and
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agent.


Early years and studies

Pedro Toledo Dávila was born in 1943 to Pedro Toledo and Gladys Dávila at Hospital Dr. Pila in Ponce,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. He lived with his mother in
Juana Díaz Juana is a Spanish female first name. It is the feminine form of Juan (English John), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Janet, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. Juanita is a common variant. The name Juana may refer to: People *Juana I (14 ...
, until his father returned from
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. After that, they moved to Ponce, where Toledo attended elementary and secondary school, graduating in 1961. Toledo enrolled at the
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a public land-grant university in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. UPRM ...
where he obtained a degree in
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
in 1966. Toledo then went to work for
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
at the
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, as an air conditioning systems engineer for the
Saturn V Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...
and
Apollo missions The Apollo program was a United States human spaceflight program carried out from 1961 to 1972 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which landed the first astronauts on the Moon. The program used the Saturn IB and Saturn ...
.


Career with the FBI

In 1968, Toledo was accepted into the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
. Toledo has said "I had finished the career in engineering but there are a lot of lawyers in my family, and I believed that y joining the FBII could indirectly enter the field of law." As part of the FBI, he was assigned as an agent to
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, where he worked until November 1969. That year, he was transferred to
Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. In 1971, Toledo was moved to Puerto Rico, where he began law school at the Interamerican University Law School, and graduated in 1974 with a
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree. During his time with the FBI, Toledo also worked as legal adviser. He also attended the Bureau's technology and polygraph schools, as well as hostage negotiator's school. He eventually joined a specialized national team of negotiators called the Critical Incident Negotiation Team. Toledo was the main negotiator in 1987 during the Atlanta Prison Riots. The riots were caused by a group of Cuban inmates who refused to be repatriated to Cuba after the Mariel boatlift. The negotiation process took two weeks, and nearly collapsed when U.S. supervisors withdrew Toledo's team to reestablish negotiations in English with a translator. Toledo said about the incident "Six hours after they did that there was a near riot. Inmates broke the phone used for negotiations and demanded that we, the Latinos, be called back", Toledo remembered. "They had to do it. Once we were back, the inmates, in a show of good will, immediately freed some hostages." Toledo was appointed supervisor of the Violent Crimes Unit of the FBI in San Juan in 1989. In 1991, Toledo also participated in negotiations during riots at the federal prison in
Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...
. During the riots, over nine hostages were taken by 121 Cuban detainees. The Cubans, who had arrived in the U.S. during the boatlift, were trying to avoid deportation, and refused to negotiate. Toledo was asked to buy time so that
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
teams could effectively prepare for a raid. In 1992, Toledo was the second in charge of the FBI in Puerto Rico.


Puerto Rico Police


First term (1993-2001)

After his time with the FBI, Toledo became supervisor of the Violent Crimes division for the
Policia de Puerto Rico The Puerto Rico Police Department ( es, Policía de Puerto Rico), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a divi ...
. When
Pedro Rosselló Pedro Juan Rosselló González, (; born April 5, 1944) is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001. He was President of the New Progressive Party from 1991 to 1999 and 2003 to 2008, a ...
was elected
governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...
during the
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...
, he selected Toledo to be the Puerto Rico Police superintendent. Toledo, who was a known supporter of Rossello's party ( PNP), became known for his firm stance against crime, which he dubbed "Mano Dura contra el Crimen" ("Strong arm against crime"). Some of Toledo's initiatives against
drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...
and violence involved the collaboration with the National Guard and the occupation of public housing projects (or "caseríos"). During his tenure, murders in the island went from its highest peak in recent years (995 in 1994) to its lowest (690 in 2000). In 2000, elected Governor
Sila María Calderón Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was the governor of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first woman elected to that office. Prior to her term as gov ...
appointed Miguel Pereira as superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police. Toledo announced his retirement from the force, and dedicated himself to a small law practice in association with one of his sons.


Second term (2005-2009)

In 2005, elected Governor
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá (born 13 February 1962) is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus (LL.M. 1987) and a graduate of the University of Puer ...
(from the PPD) appointed Toledo as superintendent. Despite his opposing political beliefs, Toledo return to the police helm. During this time, Toledo led a restructuring of the Police Department assigning police chiefs for the narcotics, illegal weapons, and internal affairs division, among others.


Later years and death

After his second stint as superintendent, Toledo returned to private life, but was regularly interviewed for his opinion on security matters of the island. On December 23, 2012, Toledo was taken to Hospital Auxilio Mutuo in
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico: Urban landscape Its name means "king's cattle farm" ( ...
, where he died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. As a result, Governor Luis Fortuño declared a day of mourning on December 26. Upon Toledo's death, politicians from all parties and ideologies expressed their grief while praising Toledo's integrity and work ethic. Toledo's body was exposed on Ehret Funerary in
Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
starting December 26, and was buried two days later at the Borinquen Memorial Cemetery in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Toledo had four sons: Pedro Jorge, Juan José, Luis Fernando and José Eduardo. Toledo also had two step-sons: Rafael Ángel Muñoz and Jorge Luis Muñoz.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toledo, Pedro 1943 births 2012 deaths Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Superintendents of the Puerto Rico Police Civil servants from Ponce