San Francisco Police Chief. A San Francisco native, Biggy saw military service with California National Guard from 1875 until 1879. He served in the California State Senate (1892 to 1895) and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1899) before he was appointed as a member of the San Francisco Police Commission in 1900 by Mayor James Phelan. Shortly afterwards he was also named to temporarily serve as Acting Chief of the San Francisco Police Department following the retirement of Chief Isaiah Lees; months later he was removed from the Police Commission by Mayor Phelan in an act of political revenge. Following the 1906 earthquake and the subsequent graft trials against Mayor Eugene Schmitz and his administration, Biggy was appointed elisor in charge of holding political boss Abe Ruef in March 1907. In September of that year he was again appointed to serve as Chief of the San Francisco Police Department after the forced resignation of Chief Jeremiah Dinan, who had also been implicated in the graft trials. Originally promising to reform the department, Biggy instead had his reputation tarnished in October 1908 after Morris Haas, who had been arrested for the attempted murder of graft prosecutor Francis Heney, committed suicide while in his custody. On November 30, Biggy took the police launch Patrol across the San Francisco Bay to Belvedere to visit Police Commissioner Hugo Keil. While it remains unknown whether it was accidental or intentional, he fell overboard from the launch while returning to San Francisco and drowned.
San Francisco Police Chief. A San Francisco native, Biggy saw military service with California National Guard from 1875 until 1879. He served in the California State Senate (1892 to 1895) and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1899) before he was appointed as a member of the San Francisco Police Commission in 1900 by Mayor James Phelan. Shortly afterwards he was also named to temporarily serve as Acting Chief of the San Francisco Police Department following the retirement of Chief Isaiah Lees; months later he was removed from the Police Commission by Mayor Phelan in an act of political revenge. Following the 1906 earthquake and the subsequent graft trials against Mayor Eugene Schmitz and his administration, Biggy was appointed elisor in charge of holding political boss Abe Ruef in March 1907. In September of that year he was again appointed to serve as Chief of the San Francisco Police Department after the forced resignation of Chief Jeremiah Dinan, who had also been implicated in the graft trials. Originally promising to reform the department, Biggy instead had his reputation tarnished in October 1908 after Morris Haas, who had been arrested for the attempted murder of graft prosecutor Francis Heney, committed suicide while in his custody. On November 30, Biggy took the police launch Patrol across the San Francisco Bay to Belvedere to visit Police Commissioner Hugo Keil. While it remains unknown whether it was accidental or intentional, he fell overboard from the launch while returning to San Francisco and drowned.
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