Michael Cox (police officer)

Last updated

Michael Cox
Boston Police Chief Michael Cox at the 2024 Boston Marathon finishing line area GLPviTyXwAAfb5T (1).jpg
44th Commissioner of the Boston Police Department
Assumed office
August 15, 2022
Rank
  • BPD: all ranks from Officer to Superintendent
  • AAPD: Chief of Police
  • BPD: Commissioner [a]

Michael A. Cox [3] (born June 17, 1965) is an American police officer, currently serving as the commissioner of the Boston Police Department. [a] He previously was the chief of police in Ann Arbor, Michigan from 2019 until 2022.

Contents

Early life

Mike Cox was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1965, the youngest of six children in an African-American family. Cox attended private school in Brookline, then the private Milton Academy for one year, where he faced class-based discrimination. He moved to Wooster School in 1981 and was admitted to Providence College in 1984. Cox frequently experienced his differences from other private school students as a class issue. When he joined the Boston Police Department, he befriended many white officers and was seen as color-blind. [4]

Career

Early career and friendly fire incident

In the early 1990s when Cox joined the Boston Police Department (BPD), crime was high in minority neighborhoods, and among BPD officers, loyalty overruled training, resulting in widespread brutality and a code of silence. BPD officers frequently used stop and frisk tactics on black men and women, and beat black men with impunity. Lying under oath was common. A mayoral blue-ribbon commission to reform the police and a permanent injunction placed by a judge had both failed to change police culture. As a plainclothes officer, Cox was mistaken for a suspect and briefly beaten while still in training, and once purposefully hit by a police vehicle and pinned to a wall. He recovered quickly both times so did not file complaints. [4]

In 1995, Cox's car was at the front of a high-speed chase which had involved several cars from the BPD and other departments. Cox continued the chase on foot, but was again mistaken for a suspect and this time badly beaten by four officers and hospitalized, suffering a serious brain injury. After the officers realized his identity, they quickly abandoned him to bleed on the sidewalk, and he learned only from newspaper reports that they had failed to report the incident. Cox began receiving harassing phone calls from other officers even before he had decided whether to file a complaint. [4] A lawsuit ultimately led to BPD settling with Cox for $900,000 in damages, as well as $400,000 in attorneys' fees. [3] No officer admitted to the beating. Following the battle in court, three of the officers were eventually fired, but one, Dave Williams, successfully sued for unjust termination and was returned to the service in 2006. Williams was again fired for brutality in 2009, and again reinstated. As of 2023, Williams is assigned to domestic violence cases. [5] Cox's story was the subject of the book The Fence, written by author and former reporter Dick Lehr of The Boston Globe . [4]

Move to Ann Arbor and return to Boston

Cox (center) with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (left) and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu at the 2023 South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade Governor-healey-marches-in-south-bostons-annual-st-patricks-day-parade 52761198870 o (1).jpg
Cox (center) with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (left) and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu at the 2023 South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade

As of 2013, Cox had advanced to Deputy Superintendent in the BPD. [3] By 2019, Cox had advanced to Superintendent, the second highest rank in the BPD, serving as leading the Bureau of Professional Development and the Police Academy. [6]

In September 2019, Cox was sworn in as the chief of police for Ann Arbor, Michigan. [7] He served until departing on July 31, 2022, for Boston. [2]

Cox speaks at a press conference held in advance of the 2024 Boston Marathon Michael Cox at security press conference for the 2024 Boston Marathon GK Etd1XgAAdr10 (2).jpg
Cox speaks at a press conference held in advance of the 2024 Boston Marathon

In July 2022, Cox was announced as the incoming commissioner of the Boston police by Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu. [8] He was officially sworn in on August 15, 2022. [9]

Personal life

As of April 2024, Cox was married with three children. [3] At that time, an article in The New York Times about Cox's 1995 beating identified one of his children as former UMass Minutemen and New York Giants running back Michael Cox. [3]

Notes

  1. 1 2 The police commissioner is a City of Boston position appointed by the Mayor of Boston; the highest rank within the Boston Police Department proper is Superintendent-in-Chief.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Rizzo</span> American police officer and politician (1920-1991)

Francis Lazarro Rizzo was an American police officer and politician. He served as commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) from 1967 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democratic Party throughout the entirety of his career in public office. He switched to the Republican Party in 1986 and campaigned as a Republican for the final five years of his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Police Department</span> Municipal police department in Boston, Massachusetts

The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. The BPD is also the 20th largest law enforcement agency in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Police Department</span> Police agency in Philadelphia, US

The Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the County and City of Philadelphia. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, fourth-largest police force and sixth-largest non-federal law enforcement agency in the United States. Since records were first kept in 1828, at least 289 PPD officers have died in the line of duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Bratton</span> American police chief (born 1947)

William Joseph Bratton CBE is an American businessman and former law enforcement officer who served two non-consecutive tenures as the New York City Police Commissioner and currently one of only two NYPD commissioners to do so. He previously served as the Commissioner of the Boston Police Department (BPD) (1993–1994) and Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) (2002–2009). He is the only person to have led the police departments of the United States' two largest cities – New York and Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Oates</span> American police officer (b. 1955)

Daniel J. Oates is a career law enforcement official. He is a former chief of police for Miami Beach, Florida, Aurora, Colorado, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Before becoming police chief in Ann Arbor in 2001, he served 21 years in the New York Police Department. He is a charter member of the federal Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council. While with the Aurora Police Department, he was responsible for the criminal investigation of a 2012 mass shooting at a local movie theater, which was one of the largest mass shootings in American history.

Bloody Christmas was the severe beating of seven civilians by members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on December 25, 1951. The attacks, which left five Mexican American and two white young men with broken bones and ruptured organs, were only properly investigated after lobbying from the Mexican American community. The internal inquiry by Los Angeles Chief of Police William H. Parker resulted in eight police officers being indicted for the assaults, 54 being transferred, and 39 suspended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Police Department</span> Municipal law enforcement agency of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering 80.9 square miles (210 km2) of land and 11.1 square miles (29 km2) of waterways. The department is sometimes referred to as the Baltimore City Police Department to distinguish it from the Baltimore County Police Department.

Human rights in Greece are observed by various organizations. The country is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the United Nations Convention Against Torture. The Greek constitution also guarantees fundamental human rights to all Greek citizens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Carcetti</span> Character from The Wire

Thomas J. "Tommy" Carcetti is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Aidan Gillen. Carcetti is an ambitious and venal Baltimore politician who begins the series with a seat on the city council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Police Department</span> Law enforcement agency in Denver, Colorado

The Denver Police Department (DPD) is the full service police department jointly for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, which provides police services to the entire county, including Denver International Airport, and may provide contractual security police service to special districts within the county. The police department is within the Denver Department of Public Safety, which also includes the Denver Sheriff Department and Denver Fire Department. The DPD was established in 1859.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Police Department</span> Law enforcement agency in Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick H. Bealefeld III</span> Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department from 2007 to 2012

Frederick H. Bealefeld III is an American former police officer who served as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department from 2007 to 2012. He also served as deputy commissioner of operations for the department from January to July 2007. Born to a family of police officers, Bealefeld graduated from Chesapeake High School in Anne Arundel County, and attended Anne Arundel Community College, dropping out due to an injury preventing him from obtaining a lacrosse scholarship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Roache</span> American policeman and politician

Francis Michael Roache was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as the Boston Police Commissioner from 1985 to 1993. He was also a member of the Boston City Council from 1996 to 2002 and was Suffolk County Register of Deeds from 2002 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Cox (running back)</span> American football player (born 1988)

Michael A. Cox Jr. is a former American football running back. He was selected by the Giants in the 7th round of the 2013 NFL draft. He played college football as an undergraduate for the Michigan Wolverines, and as a graduate student for the Massachusetts Minutemen.

Joseph Michael Jordan was an American law enforcement officer who served as Commissioner of the Boston Police Department from 1976 to 1985. He was the first uniformed BPD officer to rise through the ranks to become commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William B. Evans</span> American police officer (born 1958)

William B. Evans is currently serving as the executive director of public safety and chief of police of Boston College. Previously, Evans was the commissioner of the Boston Police Department from January 2014 until August 2018. Evans served as interim commissioner from November 2013 until he was permanently appointed by newly elected mayor Marty Walsh. He announced his retirement from the Boston Police Department in July 2018. He currently serves as the chief of the Boston College police department. A graduate of Suffolk University, Evans holds a master's degree in cybersecurity from Boston College and another master's in criminal justice from Anna Maria College. He is also a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy, FBI's National Executive Institute, Department of Homeland Security Post Naval Executive Leaders Program and received several certificates from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in subjects ranging from homeland security to preparedness leadership. He is active in several professional organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Major Cities Chiefs Association, and is currently an adjunct professor at Boston College and Boston University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael S. Harrison</span> American police officer (born 1960s)

Michael S. Harrison is an American former police officer who served as commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) from 2019 to 2023. He was also the superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) from 2014 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Police Department</span> Law enforcement agency serving the City of Buffalo, New York

The Buffalo Police Department (BPD) is the second-largest city police force in the state of New York. In 2012, it had over nine hundred employees, including over seven hundred police officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in Michigan</span> Protests in Michigan caused by the murder of George Floyd

This is a list of protests that took place in Michigan in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

Dennis A. White is an American police officer who was briefly Commissioner of the Boston Police Department in 2021. After being sworn in on February 1, 2021, White was placed on leave two days later, as the city conducted an investigation into a 1999 allegation of domestic violence against his wife and teenage daughter. On June 7, 2021, Acting Mayor Kim Janey fired White after legal challenges.

References

  1. "Meet the Candidates for Ann Arbor Police Chief". www.a2gov.org. City of Ann Arbor. May 6, 2019.
  2. 1 2 "City of Ann Arbor Interim Chief of Police Named". www.a2gov.org. City of Ann Arbor. July 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Pennington, Bill (November 16, 2013). "A Lesson in Perseverance for a Giants Running Back" . The New York Times . Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lehr, Dick (June 15, 2010). The Fence: A Police Cover-Up Along Boston's Racial Divide. HarperCollins. pp. 356–. ISBN   9780060780999 . Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  5. Jones, Glenn (February 8, 2023). "A Boston Police Officer Was Fired Twice. Arbitration Got Him His Job Back — But Should It?". NBC Boston.
  6. Stanton, Ryan (July 1, 2019). "Ann Arbor council hires Boston cop to serve as new police chief". The Ann Arbor News . Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  7. Grant, Isobel (September 4, 2019). "Ann Arbor Police Department swears in new Chief of Police Michael Cox". The Michigan Daily . Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  8. Durkin Richer, Alanna (July 13, 2022). "Officer, once beaten by colleagues, to lead Boston police". Associated Press. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  9. Zokovitch, Grace (August 15, 2022). "Boston swears in new Police Commissioner Michael Cox". Boston Herald . Retrieved August 15, 2022 via MSN.com.
Police appointments
Preceded by Commissioner of the Boston Police Department
August 15, 2022 – present
Succeeded by
Incumbent