History Watch: “I Shot the Sheriff”

History Watch:

“I Shot the Sheriff”

In the United States, a police officer dies in the line of duty about every 2.5 days.  Of those, a little less than half are homicide victims.  The San Rafael Police Department has been very lucky, having only lost one officer to an on duty homicide in the history of the department. 

In order to examine this story we have to travel back in time 120 years to a fall evening on Sunday, October 12, 1884.  In those days, San Rafael had Night Watchmen and Constables who patrolled the Township enforcing the laws.  One such man was Denis Haley who had been working in the position of Night Watchman for several years.  He lived in San Rafael with his wife and four children.

Haley was described as a quiet and pleasant man who had good manners with the citizens of San Rafael.  He was reported to be well liked and admired by everyone.  Well, almost everyone.  There was one citizen named John O’Toole, who not only did not like Haley but who had been involved in several heated disputes with him over a various number of subjects.  O’Toole, who was unemployed and described as a quiet man, also lived in San Rafael with his mother. Most people knew about the ongoing feud, but it was dismissed as only a personal grudge and nothing more.  But a lot more was to come of it.

On the night in question, Night Watchman Haley was walking foot patrol on Fourth Street with Officer Fitzroy and two other men named Michael Daley and O. McDougall.  As they proceeded along Fourth Street, John O’Toole happened to be walking on the street and he stopped to talk with Haley.  Witnesses reported that the conversation started over politics and it got heated and it went physical as the two men got into a scuffle.

At some point during the altercation, O’Toole pulled a pistol from his waistband and he fired one shot at Haley, striking him in the abdomen.  O’Toole was immediately taken into custody and Haley was taken to his San Rafael home where he was put to bed and treated by a local physician.  District Attorney Wilkins was summoned to the Haley home and he took a dying declaration from him as the wound was serious. Haley lingered for several days finally passing away on Wednesday, October 15, 1884.

A Coroner’s Inquest was held shortly after the death and the result of the inquest was that Night Watchman Denis Haley died of a single gunshot wound to his abdomen at the hands of John O’Toole.  Several days after the death, a rumor spread that certain members of the community were going to get their hands on O’Toole and lynch him, however cooler heads prevailed and O’Toole remained in custody at the Courthouse at Fourth and A Street. Legal proceedings began and an initial court appearance was made by DA Wilkins representing the People and Defense Attorney T. J. Crowley who appeared for the Defense.

A trial was held in the latter part of 1885 and O’Toole pleaded self defense based on the long term ongoing dispute the two men had.  However O’Toole’s theory was badly damaged when witnesses testified that O’Toole fired the one and only fatal shot at Haley from a distance of six to ten feet.  On February 5, 1886 the jury, which apparently bought some part of the self defense theory, found O’Toole guilty of manslaughter.

The Marin Journal, on Thursday, February 5, 1886 made the following editorial comment regarding this case.  “Deeds of lawlessness and violence are almost certain to be followed by legal penalty.  We are inclined to emphasize this fact for the better it is understood the less liable we are to the commission of lawless acts.  Another lesson should be laid to heart, the folly of carrying firearms.  Of course foolish men will never learn it; but it must be preached and the press must urge it and repeat it.  How awfully impressive is the warning from this case in point.”

Thus, Night Watchman Denis Haley became the first and only San Rafael Law Enforcement Officer slain in the line of duty.  But our story does not end here.  One of Haley’s four children was Daniel J. Haley, who grew up in San Rafael working as a butcher at the Anderson Market at Third and B Street.  Daniel Haley, who died in 1941, had a son named Harold J. Haley, who became an Assistant District Attorney for the County of Marin and later in his career he became a Superior Court Judge.

On August 7, 1970, Judge Harold Haley was presiding in his courtroom at the Marin County Civic Center over a murder trail committed by several San Quentin convicts.  Seventeen year old Jonathan Jackson smuggled several guns into the courtroom and everyone was taken hostage.  Judge Haley had a shotgun tied around his neck and he and other hostages were escorted to a waiting van.  A shootout began and Judge Haley, 65, was slain. In what could only be described as an incredible coincidence, two members of the Haley family, both of whom were in law enforcement over three generations, were killed in the line of duty.

There are no known photographs of Night Watchman Denis Haley.  Attached is a photo of his grandson, Judge Harold J. Haley, shotgun around his neck, as he is being led out of the Civic Center by San Quentin Convict J. D. McClain, just minutes prior to his death.

Copyright 2015 Harry Barbier – All Rights Reserved