The former head of the Garda Inspectorate will be a guest at US president Barack Obama’s annual state of the union address tomorrow night.
Kathleen O’Toole, who is leading police reforms in Seattle that are drawing national interest, will join more than two dozen other guests of first lady Michelle Obama for the president’s main political speech of the year.
The guests, who include a Syrian refugee and a Mexican immigrant, are invited as a reference to the president’s flagship policies and the issues the country faces.
A seat in the first lady’s box will left empty to represent the victims of gun violence.
Reform of the US criminal justice system and improvements in policing are high on Mr Obama’s agenda at a time when police forces across the US are coming under scrutiny after high-profile police killings of black young men.
Ms O’Toole ran the Garda Inspectorate, which reviews policing practice and recommends reforms, from its inception in 2006 until 2012. Before that, she was Boston’s first woman police commissioner.
Policing in the community
The invitation arises from her work with the US department of justice to improve policing in the community that includes the introduction of body-worn police cameras to increase transparency and trust.
"By nature, I prefer a low profile but this is a wonderful opportunity to represent my organisation, Mayor Murray and our community here in Seattle," Ms O'Toole said, mentioning Seattle mayor Ed Murray, whose four grandparents came from Ireland.
The police chief said she learned much from her time at the Garda Inspectorate.
“I learned that in order to drive reform in an organisation, you need to get people to buy in and in order to get buy- in, it has to be a collaborative approach and you have to listen carefully to them and respect everybody’s feedback and input,” she said.
