Thomas Cahill, a tall, strong, red headed Irishman, was the San Francisco Chief of Police from 1958-1970. He was born in Chicago but moved with his family to Ireland when he was still quite young. He attended college and became fluent in Gaelic. When he was 19, and months away from losing his US citizenship, an American cousin convinced him to move back to the States. He worked on his cousin’s 4,000 acre cotton and grain ranch in Fresno, California before eventually moving to San Francisco.

Despite being highly educated, Cahill could only find work as a driver for the City Ice Company, delivering 300 pound blocks of ice. With the invention of the electric icebox in the late 1930s, Cahill realized that his career as an ice deliveryman was coming to an end and a fellow deliveryman talked him into taking the police entrance exam, which he passed. He graduated from the SF Police Academy in 1942 and spent four years as a beat cop in the Potrero Station before a renowned homicide detective, Frank Ahern, asked that Cahill be his partner. It was believed Ahern chose Cahill because of Cahill’s calm demeanor and professionalism. They worked together for 10 years, mostly on Mafia cases. When Ahern was appointed Chief of Police in 1956 he appointed Cahill as Deputy Chief. Mind you, Cahill never took the exams necessary to move up in rank. When Ahern died suddenly of a heart attack two years into his term, Cahill became Chief of Police. 

He had good relationships with the mayors he worked for and was seen by most as tough but fair. But in 1967 Cahill and Mayor John Shelley locked horns over the handling of the huge surge of youth pouring into the City for the Summer of Love. Shelley was reluctant to be heavy handed, and Cahill, in an unprecedented move, contacted Governor Ronald Reagan directly, requesting that the California Highway Patrol and the California National Guard come in and sweep “all hippies” from the City. By law, Reagan needed the request to come directly from the mayor, and despite pleas from both Reagan and Cahill for Shelley’s authorization, he refused. Had Shelley acquiesced, San Francisco would be a very different city than it is today.

Cahill gained national attention as he attempted to maintain law and order during the summer of 1967 and the tumultuous years that followed. He fervently believed that his actions were saving the City from anarchy. But in 1970 Mayor Joseph Alioto^[1] asked for Cahill’s resignation, believing that his style was too rigid and old-fashioned for the rapidly changing times. Cahill officially retired and became Chief of Security for Pac Bell until forced retirement at age 65. He spent his retirement in Clearlake, California and died in 2002 at the age of 92 from congestive heart failure. But his service to the City will never be forgotten: in 1994 the current Hall of Justice on Bryant Street was renamed the Thomas J Cahill Hall of Justice^[2].

^[1] Joseph Alioto: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4431