Kathy O'Toole is an international police leader. Starting as a patrol officer with the Boston Police Department, she rose through the ranks. Kathy left the Boston Police for the now-defunct Metropolitan Police. When the Mets were subsumed by the Massachusetts State Police, she became a Lieutenant Colonel. She was tapped by Governor William Weld as the Secretary of Public Safety. She served as the Commissioner of the Boston Police from February 2004 thru May 2006, the first female to hold this position. She later served on the Patten Commission in Northern Ireland, which worked to reform the Royal Ulster Constabulary, creating PSNI, Police Service of Northern Ireland. Later, she was appointed the first Chief Inspector for the Garda Inspectorate in the Republic of Ireland.
Kathy has retired and continues to provide consulting services to public and private organizations, including serving as a principal for CP 21.
A graduate of Boston College, she earned her J.D. from the New England School of Law. More recently she competed her Ph.D. from Trinity University of Dublin. She resides on Cape Cod with her husband, a retired Boston Police Detective.
Kathy joins The CopDoc Podcast for two episodes, on June 21st and 28th, 2022.
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