Michael Gaffey was the police chief of San Francisco between 1951 and 1955.

Gaffey was born in County Roscommon

County Roscommon

County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 near Ballinasloe in 1893, moved to San Francisco at the age of twenty and joined the police department in 1921. Gaffey was awarded the Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

 for his service in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

According to University of San Francisco

University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...

 historian, John B. Mc Gloin, S.J., in 1950, Dragnet

Dragnet

Dragnet may refer to:* A type of fishing net*Dragnet , a coordinated search, named for the fishing net-Dragnet media series:...

 based in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 was one of the most popular radio crime-dramas. San Francisco Mayor Elmer Robinson

Elmer Robinson

Elmer Edwin Robinson was the 33rd mayor of San Francisco, California. A Republican, he served as San Francisco's mayor from January 1948 until January 1956....

 asked Chief Gaffey to contact Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker, "for tips on how to handle "show business" to make a crime drama based in San Francisco." NBC owned Dragnet. The Columbia Broadcasting System produced The Lineup

The Lineup (TV series)

The Lineup is an American police drama which aired on CBS radio from 1950 to 1953 and on CBS television from 1954 to 1960, possibly in response to NBC's hit Dragnet....

 on radio 1950-1953 and CBS television 1954-1960. During end credits of The Lineup, Chief Gaffey's name appeared in the same manner as Chief Parker on Dragnet. The show would be remembered by the syndicated name of San Francisco Beat. Gaffey was pleased by the no nonsense acting by Warner Anderson

Warner Anderson

Warner Anderson was an American actor. He had a small part in a film in 1915. He had supporting parts in several films through the years....

 as Lieutenant Ben Guthrie and Tom Tully

Tom Tully

Tom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...

 as Sergeant Matt Grebb. Quinn Martin

Quinn Martin

Quinn Martin was one of the most successful American television producers. He had at least one television series running in prime time for 21 straight years , an industry record.-Early life:...

 recalled in 1971, The Lineup aka San Francisco Beat when he created, The Streets of San Francisco

The Streets of San Francisco

The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...

.

In 1954, he disbanded the "super" vice squad

Vice Squad

Vice Squad is a punk band formed in 1978 in Bristol, England. The band formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. Songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage was a founding member and is currently with the band, although there was a period of time when the band had a different...

 claiming that prostitution, gambling, and bookmaking in SF had dropped to an "irreducible minimum."

After goading by the San Francisco Examiner, he decided in 1954 to “clean the homosexuals from the streets” and joined forces with Federal Police I4 to clamp down on five taverns and connect “sex deviates” to the corruption of minors, believing that public morality directly translated into criminal regulation.

He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery

Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma

Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, California is an American Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Established in 1887 on of a former potato farm, it is the oldest and largest cemetery established in Colma to serve the needs of San Francisco...

 in Colma, California

Colma, California

Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, at the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,792 at the 2010 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924....

.

Sources

• Nan Alamilla Boyd, Wide Open Town UC Press ISBN 0520204158
• Obituary, San Francisco Chronicle March 6, 1961
• California Deaths, 1940 - 1997

he is related to well known gard martin gaffey