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, when appointed by Mayor of Boston Thomas M. Menino in February 2004. On May 9, 2006, her 52nd birthday, O'Toole officially announced that she was leaving the Boston Police Department to move to Ireland. She was the first Chief Inspector of the Garda Inspectorate, established to ensure that Garda Síochána 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, 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 in 1976, a Juris Doctor 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. Her career includes service as Lieutenant Colonel of Massachusetts State Police from 1992 to 1999. 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. She was then appointed to the Patten Commission headed by Lord Patten of Barnes which reformed policing in Northern Ireland and led to the formation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. 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 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in Game 7 the 2004 American League Championship Series. During attempts to control the crowd that had gathered near Fenway Park, Boston police fired a "less lethal" FN 303 round, which missed its intended target and struck Snelgrove in the eye, resulting