Kathleen M. O'Toole ( Horton; born May 9, 1954) is an American law enforcement officer who served as Chief of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) from June 23, 2014, to January 4, 2018. She was previously the first female commissioner of the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1854, the BPD is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. It is also the 20th largest law enforce ...

, when appointed by

Mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a m ...

Thomas M. Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician Mayoralty of Thomas Menino, who served as the List of mayors of Boston, Massachusetts, mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving ...

in February 2004. On May 9, 2006, her 52nd birthday, O'Toole officially announced that she was leaving the

to move to Ireland. She was the first Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, established to ensure that

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

operates effectively and efficiently. The Inspectorate reports directly to Ireland's Minister for Justice and Equality. She then returned to the U.S. and took her position in Seattle. O'Toole also sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.

Early life and education

O'Toole was born in 1954 in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

, and moved to Marblehead at age 13 and to Boston, Massachusetts, at age 18. She resided in Boston from that time until she took a position in Ireland in 2006. O'Toole earned a Bachelor of Arts from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

in 1976, a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from New England School of Law in 1982, and a PhD from the Business School of Trinity College Dublin in 2018.

Career

O’Toole began her career in 1979 as a Boston police officer. In 1986, she joined the Metropolitan District Commission Police, at the time led by

William Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American businessman and former law enforcement officer who served two non-consecutive tenures as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016) and currently one of ...

. In 1990, she succeeded Bratton as head, but she left this position in 1991 in order to become a security executive for the

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...

. O'Toole then served as Lieutenant Colonel of

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

from 1992 to 1994. While maintaining her sworn State Police rank, she served from 1994 to 1998 as Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety in the cabinet of Governor

William Weld William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

. She was then appointed to the Patten Commission headed by Lord Patten of Barnes which reformed policing in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and led to the formation of the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

. In May 2014, she was nominated by Mayor Ed Murray to become Seattle's first female chief of police.

Shooting of Victoria Snelgrove

While serving as Commissioner of the Boston Police, O'Toole was a central figure in the controversy surrounding the fatal shooting of Victoria Snelgrove during celebrations following the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

victory over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

in Game 7 the 2004 American League Championship Series. During attempts to control the crowd that had gathered near

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

, Boston police fired a " less lethal"

FN 303 The FN 303 is a semi-automatic less-lethal riot gun designed and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. The FN 303 uses compressed air to fire projectiles from a 15-round drum magazine. It is designed to incapacitate the target through ...

round, which missed its intended target and struck Snelgrove in the eye, resulting in her death approximately 12 hours later. While Commissioner O'Toole demoted Superintendent James Claiborne, who was not in the vicinity of the shooting, and suspended two officers involved in the incident, no prosecution or dismissal was brought against any officer in the case. Investigations led by former U.S. Attorney Donald K. Stern and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley concluded that criminal charges would not be appropriate.

Garda Inspectorate

The three-member Garda Inspectorate examines operational, investigative, managerial and policing strategies to ensure that these meet best practice. O'Toole's role within the Garda was to clean up the then-current scandalous conditions in the Gardaí. The Morris Tribunal pronounced that it was "staggered" by the level of indiscipline and insubordination in the force and the Irish Government responded with a revised code of discipline. O'Toole served her full term of office and was asked to stay on until the new Chief Inspector could take up his position in July 2012.

Later career

In late-2024, O'Toole and then-interim Seattle police chief Sue Rahr jointly led the search committee to make a recommendation to Mayor

Bruce Harrell Bruce Allen Harrell (born October 10, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 57th and current Mayor of Seattle, mayor of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. He was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2008 to 2020. ...

on who Seattle's next police chief should be. Their top recommendation was

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

Police Chief Shon Barnes. Harrell heeded this recommendation and selected Barnes as his nominee for police chief.

Personal life

She is married to Daniel O'Toole, now a retired Boston police detective. They have one daughter, Meghan, who received her undergraduate degree from Boston College and her master's degree from

National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

.Kathleen O Toole Director Report – Irish Company Info – SoloCheck
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References

External links

Department of JusticeGarda SíochánaPolice Service of Northern Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otoole, Kathleen Massachusetts Secretaries of Public Safety 1954 births Living people People from Marblehead, Massachusetts People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts Commissioners of the Boston Police Department Boston College alumni Women in Massachusetts politics Chiefs of the Seattle Police Department American women police officers 21st-century American women