Francis Roache
{{short description|American policeman and politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Francis Roache
| image = Francis Roache (9501945479).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Roache as Commissioner of Police of Boston
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|08|03}}
| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|12|17|1936|08|03}}
| death_place =
| occupation = Policeman and politician
| office3 = Boston Police Commissioner
| appointed3 = Raymond Flynn
| term_start3= March 13, 1985
| term_end3 = June 30, 1993
| predecessor3= Joseph M. Jordan
| successor3 = William Bratton
|office2=Member of the Boston City Council
| term_start2 = 1996
| term_end2 = 2002
| predecessor2 = John A. Nucci
| successor2 = Felix D. Arroyo
|office1=Suffolk County Register of Deeds
| term_start1= 2002
| term_end1 = December 31, 2015
| predecessor1= Paul R. Tierney
| successor1 = Stephen J. Murphy
| alma_mater = Boston State College
| spouse = Barbara Campers
| children = Barbara, Donna, Paula, Michael, and Lori
|branch={{Marines|United States}}
}}
Francis Michael Roache{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26323525/francis_m_roachelaidback_yet/ |title=Francis M. Roache—laid-back, yet 'tough' |first=Ed |last=Quill |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=1 |date=February 1, 1985 |accessdate=December 18, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}} (August 3, 1936 – December 17, 2018) 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.
Early life and education
Roache was born in South Boston, and was a 1954 graduate of South Boston High School.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/12/17/boston-police-department-mourns-passing-former-commissioner-francis-mickey-roache/0xPBmPTT140pSkZjKzzgDK/story.html |url-access=limited |title=Former Boston Police Commissioner Francis 'Mickey' Roache dies at 82 |first=Milton J. |last=Valencia |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=December 17, 2018 |accessdate=December 17, 2018}} He then served in the United States Marine Corps until 1959, and worked for Sears Roebuck in The Fenway neighborhood of Boston for 10 years,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26323673/francis_m_roachelaidback_yet/ |title=Francis M. Roache—laid-back, yet 'tough' (cont'd) |first=Ed |last=Quill |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=2 |date=February 1, 1985 |accessdate=December 18, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}} while attending Boston State College.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26323850/what_is_boston_police_commission/ |title=What is Boston Police Commission Francis M. Roache's background? |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=35 |date=December 27, 1987 |accessdate=December 18, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}
Career
{{Multiple image
|align=center
|image1=Mayor Raymond L. Flynn swearing in Police Commissioner Francis "Mickey" Roache (9519688286).jpg
|caption1=Roache (left) being sworn in as Police Commissioner by Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn in 1985
|image2=Two unidentified officers, Police Commissioner Francis "Mickey" Roache, and Mayor Raymond L. Flynn (9519690376).jpg
|caption2=From left: two policemen, Roache, Raymond Flynn
|image3=Police Commissioner Francis "Mickey" Roache at podium (9516902077).jpg
|caption3=Roache giving a speech}}
=Law enforcement=
Roache joined the Boston Police Department (BPD) in 1968. On February 1, 1985, as a lieutenant who headed the BPD's Community Disorders Unit,{{cite news|title=Blacks Return To Boston Project Decade After Uproar|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6UVPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6816,5019898|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|date=April 15, 1984}} Roache was appointed acting Police Commissioner.{{cite news|title=3 killed, 3 wounded in Boston violence|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Cs48AAAAIBAJ&sjid=9y0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4900,1280036|accessdate=8 June 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|date=February 4, 1985}} On March 13, he was sworn in as permanent Commissioner by his lifelong friend, Mayor of Boston Raymond Flynn.{{cite news|last=Quill|first=Ed|title=Roache to be Sworn in Today as Permanent Commissioner|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/661884151.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107004639/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/661884151.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2012|accessdate=8 June 2011|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=March 13, 1985}}
During his tenure as Commissioner, Roache instituted mandatory drug testing for BPD employees and won praise for his efforts to root out corruption in the department.{{cite news|title=Drug testing ordered for all Boston Police|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0wYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4869,1511872|accessdate=June 8, 2011|newspaper=Sentinel wire services|date=April 25, 1986}}
Roache was Commissioner during the Charles Stuart case.{{cite news|title=Outrage follows Boston shootings|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=n2dKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yZMMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4751,7612753|accessdate=8 June 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|date=October 25, 1989}} The police's mishandling of the case caused African-American leaders to call for Roache's resignation.{{cite news|title=Racial tensions boil over in Boston over murder|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2_JYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IoYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3062,1338926|accessdate=June 9, 2011|newspaper=United Press International|date=January 6, 1990}} In December 1990, the Massachusetts Attorney General's office released a report which detailed a variety of civil rights violations committed by the BPD. Violations described in the report included random frisking of minority youth and coercing witnesses to testify in the Stuart case.{{cite news|title=State faults Boston murder investigation|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xXEjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0mMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2290,2787730|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|date=December 19, 1990}}
After several shootings of unarmed victims by police, alleged mismanagement in the Internal Affairs Department, and a report issued by United States Attorney Wayne Budd detailing allegations of police misconduct, Mayor Flynn was pressured to fire Roache.{{cite news|title=For 3rd time, mayor throws hat into ring|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ji1KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BoYMAAAAIBAJ&pg=912,4786082|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|date=July 28, 1991}}{{cite news|title=Channel 4 issues call for Roache's resignation|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59274968.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107004656/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59274968.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2012|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=October 10, 1991}} Flynn refused to fire Roache, which caused critics of the police department to claim that Roache's friendship with the Mayor was the reason he was still Commissioner. During the 1991 mayoral election, candidate Edward J. Doherty promised that if elected, he would fire Roache.{{cite news|title=Many call for changes in police leadership|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59261908.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121203031923/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59261908.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 3, 2012|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=September 4, 1991|first=Toni|last=Locy|author2=Sean P. Murphy}} Flynn appointed a commission led by Boston attorney James D. St. Clair to investigate the BPD. The commission recommended that Flynn fire Roache.{{cite news|last=Jackson|first=Derrick Z.|title=A call for Flynn to make his legacy|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/58983067.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720214059/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/58983067.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 20, 2012|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=January 5, 1992}} On June 24, 1993, Roache announced his resignation, effective June 30.{{cite news|title=Police commissioner quits|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wjZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Cz4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4813,5933387|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=Associated Press|date=June 25, 1993}}
=Politics=
After his resignation, Roache became a candidate for mayor of Boston in the 1993 election to succeed Ray Flynn, who had resigned to become United States Ambassador to the Holy See. Roache finished in seventh place in the preliminary election with 3.01% of the vote.{{cite web|title=Election Results|url=http://www.cityofboston.gov/elections/search/default.asp|work=Cityofboston.gov|publisher=The City of Boston|accessdate=5 June 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907221710/http://www.cityofboston.gov/elections/search/default.asp|archivedate=7 September 2011}}
Roache was elected to the Boston City Council in November 1995 as an at-large councilor.{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Adrian|title=O'Neil, Roache win big Iannella is 3d, Davis-Mullen 4th in council preliminary|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/21374119.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107004732/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/21374119.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 7, 2012|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=September 20, 1995}} He was reelected in 1997, 1999, and 2001. In 2002, he left the City Council to become Suffolk County registrar of deeds, a position he held until his resignation on December 31, 2015.{{cite news|last1=Scharfenberg|first1=David|title=Suffolk Register of Deeds Resigns|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/01/06/suffolk-register-deeds-resigns/qo8K0V4d2OPmuQxG7BqDoJ/story.html|accessdate=March 12, 2016|work=The Boston Globe|date=January 6, 2016}}{{cite news|last=Silberman|first=Ellen J.|title=First Latino to join Hub City Council when Roache assumes Register post|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/186935351.html?dids=186935351:186935351&FMT=ABS&FMTS|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715185230/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/bostonherald/access/186935351.html?dids=186935351:186935351&FMT=ABS&FMTS|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2012|accessdate=9 June 2011|newspaper=Boston Herald|date=September 19, 2002}}
Personal life
Roache and his wife, Barbara (née Campers), raised five children: Barbara, Donna, Paula, Michael, and Lori.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26323254/roache_sees_a_city_enjoying_diversity/ |title=Roache Sees a City Enjoying Diversity in '97 |first=Adrian |last=Walker |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=28 |date=July 29, 1993 |accessdate=December 18, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}} They resided in Quincy, Massachusetts, and later the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. He was a practicing Roman Catholic, often attending mass daily. Roache died on December 17, 2018, at the age of 82.{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/12/17/former-boston-police-commissioner-francis-mickey-roache-dies/ |title=Former Boston Police Commissioner Francis 'Mickey' Roache dies |first=Marie |last=Szaniszlo |newspaper=Boston Herald |date=December 17, 2018 |accessdate=December 17, 2018}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite web |url=http://bpdnews.com/news/2018/12/17/in-memoriam |title=In Memoriam: The Boston Police Department Mourns the Passing of Former Commissioner Francis M. 'Mickey' Roache |website=bpdnews.com |date=December 17, 2018 |accessdate=December 17, 2018}}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/12/18/ray-flynn-mickey-ill-see-you-at-the-finish-line/ |title=Ray Flynn remembers his former police commissioner, "Mickey" Roache |first=Raymond |last=Flynn |website=Boston Herald |date=December 18, 2018 |accessdate=December 18, 2018}}
- {{cite web |url=https://stephenomeara.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/mickey-roache-the-power-of-procedural-justice-legitimacy/ |title=Mickey Roache: The Power of Procedural Justice & Legitimacy |first=Jim |last=Jordan |website=stephenomeara.wordpress.com |date=March 16, 2012 |accessdate=December 18, 2018}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=196356 Roache election results] at ourcampaigns.com
{{s-start}}
{{s-civ|pol}}
{{succession box|before=Joseph M. Jordan|title=Commissioner of the Boston Police Department|years=1985–1993 |after=William J. Bratton}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box|before=John A. Nucci|title=At-large member of the Boston City Council|years=1996–2002 |after=Felix D. Arroyo}}
{{succession box|before=Paul R. Tierney|title=Suffolk County Register of Deeds|years=2002–2015 |after=Stephen J. Murphy}}
{{s-end}}
{{Boston Police Commissioner}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roache, Francis}}
Category:Boston City Council members
Category:Commissioners of the Boston Police Department
Category:Massachusetts Democrats
Category:Register of deeds in Suffolk County, Massachusetts