Thomas J. Cuddy

Thomas J. Cuddy was the fifth chief of police in Los Angeles, California. He served two terms, from July 1, 1883, to January 1, 1885, and from January 23, 1888, to September 4, 1888. He succeeded Henry King the first time, being replaced by Edward McCarthy, and succeeded P.M. Darcy the second time, being replaced by L.G. Loomis.

Little is known about Cuddy. He was one of fifteen politically appointed chiefs who headed the nascent Los Angeles Police Department in the 13 years after the formation of the department in 1876. In 1888 he was implicated in the bribery of police officers by gambling interests in Chinatown when a commission appointed by Mayor William Workman heard testimony that he and others had received money "as insurance against police raids on the gambling houses" (Michael J. Keane, "The Workman Vice Investigations: A Case Study for the Anti-Chinese Movement of the Late Nineteenth Century" at [1]). The same year he raised an objection to the hiring by the Police Commission of Mrs. Helen A. Watson as the city's first jail matron (Ralph E. Shaffer in "Letters From the People" at [2]).

See also

• List of Los Angeles Police Department Chiefs of Police