Margaret York (August 4, 1941 – October 17, 2021) was an American police officer, considered to have had a groundbreaking impact during her time in the Los Angeles Police Department. She was reported to be the inspiration for the American television show ''

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very dif ...

''.

LAPD career

She began working for the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

in 1965 as a radio operator, and then attended the police academy and became an officer in 1968. After 24 years in the department she was promoted in 1992 to Captain at the age of 51. She was the fourth woman to achieve that rank in the department. She was promoted to Commander in 1997, only the second woman to rise to that rank. In 2000 she was the first woman promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief. She retired from LAPD in 2002 and became the final chief of the

Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety The Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety (LACOPS), less formally known as the Los Angeles County Police, was a security police agency for Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was formed in 1998 by consolidating three Los Ang ...

, a special purpose police department for parks, public buildings, and other county facilities. The LACOPS was disbanded in 2009 and the roles, but not the staff, were transferred to the

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...

. York was partnered with another woman, Helen Kidder, in the homicide department in the 1970s and they reportedly had the highest rate of confessions of any team. That team was reportedly the inspiration for the television show ''

'' that paired two female detectives, although the show was situated in New York City.

O. J. Simpson trial

In 1981 York married

Lance Ito Lance Allan Ito (born August 2, 1950) is an American retired judge, best known for presiding over the criminal trial for the O. J. Simpson murder case, held in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1995. Early life and career Ito was born ...

, a prosecutor who later was appointed judge for the

Los Angeles Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Superior Court operates 36 courthouses throughout the county. Curr ...

. During the

O. J. Simpson murder case ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a Criminal procedure, criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, in which former National Football League, NFL player and actor O. J. Simpson was tried and acquitt ...

trial, over which Ito presided, a key witness in the trial was

Mark Fuhrman Mark Fuhrman (born February 5, 1952) is a former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). He is primarily known for his part in the investigation of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in the O. J. Simpson m ...

, a police officer who once was a subordinate of York's. Fuhrman had been caught on tape disparaging York, and the prosecution in the trial threatened to call York as a witness as a way to disqualify Ito from continuing his role in the case.

Personal life

York was involved in philanthropic work, particularly with the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. She died on October 17, 2021, at the age of 80.

References

1941 births 2021 deaths American women police officers Los Angeles Police Department officers 21st-century American women {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub