Exit O'Toole

Published May 09 2006, 10:47 PM by Adam Reilly

It's official--Kathleen O'Toole is off to Ireland.

Nice timing, what with those homicide-friendly summer months just around the corner. Then again, O'Toole's tenure hasn't exactly been dazzling. So maybe her successor will be an upgrade.

As O'Toole rides off into the sunset, it's worth pondering these truly bizarre lines from the Globe's February 2006 profile of the commish:

O'Toole, who is protective of the department's image, starts her days at 6 a.m. at her home in South Boston, where she types three key terms into the search engines on the websites for The Boston Globe and Boston Herald: "Boston Police," "O'Toole," and "Menino," "to determine whether it's safe to leave the house or not," she said, chuckling. She talks to Menino on the phone, and heads to City Hall for meetings.

Midmorning, at police headquarters in Roxbury, she pores over paperwork, such as staff changes and punishments recommended by the internal affairs unit. Occasionally, she sits in on intelligence briefings. She lets others decide which units go where and rarely inquires about investigations, waiting for deputies to provide updates.

I'm all for delegating, but that sounds like borderline neglect.