Former Boston Police Commissioner Francis "Mickey" Roache. (Boston Police Department)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Former Boston Police Commissioner Francis 'Mickey' Roache, who former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn described as "the perfect choice" to run the BPD, died Monday at the age of 82.
Roache was from South Boston, and left the city to serve in the U.S. Marines. He returned to Boston and became involved with youth athletic programs, then joined the Boston Police Department in 1968. He was appointed as Commissioner in 1985 by then-Mayor Flynn.
"He was the perfect choice for somebody who was fair, honest, quiet, and just a kind man," Flynn told WBZ NewsRadio's Ben Parker. "Mickey was the ideal guy because I couldn't be out there all day long, and at the same time, Mickey Roache, that's all he knew how to do was work, work hard. He brought people together. We met every single day in one neighborhood or the other."
Roache ran for mayor in 1993, but didn't crack the top five in the preliminaries. He went on to serve as a Boston City Councilor from 1996-2002, eventually becoming Suffolk County Register of Deeds until 2015.
Flynn said Roache did a lot to bring the City of Boston together.
"He became a police officer and he ran the Community Relations Department for the police," Flynn said. "It wasn't a very popular position at the time, because it was during the busing. He was one of the few guys around trying to keep peace in the community, in the city."
"We ask that you join with us and keep the Roache family in your prayers as we thank our former commissioner for his service to the City of Boston," the BPD posted on their blog.
Listen to the full interview with former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn below.
WBZ NewsRadio's Ben Parker (@radiobenparker) reports