Beat Cop to Top Cop

John Francis Timoney was born in Dublin, Ireland on July 2, 1948. His family immigrated to New York in 1961. After graduating from high school, he passed the police exam. He spent 18 months as a trainee before being assigned to the 44th Precinct in the South Bronx. He received a bachelor's degree in American history from John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, a master's degree in American history from Fordham University, and a master's degree in urban affairs from Hunter College.

At the age of 46, he became the youngest chief of department in New York, and later became a commissioner in Philadelphia and a chief in Miami. He was responsible for establishing protocols that reduced the number of shootings by the police and other kinds of violent confrontations with civilians. He also shifted priorities from summons quotas and radio car patrols to shoe-leather crime prevention and enforcement. His memoir, Beat Cop to Top Cop: A Tale of Three Cities, was published in 2010. He died from complications of lung cancer on August 16, 2016 at the age of 68.

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