March 2, 2023 – It is with deep sadness that we have learned of the passing today of Maurice J. Cullinane, Chief of Police for the DC Metropolitan Police Department from December 1974 – January 1978.
Cullinane is known by many for the moment in time when he publicly represented the MPD with kindness and leadership. He was captured one autumn day in 1957 by a photographer while he worked during a Chinese cultural parade. A little boy raced into the street, trying to join up with the Chinese lion passing by while fireworks were going off all around. Then a patrolman, Cullinane could foresee a disaster in the making. Photographer William Beall, snapped his photo just as Cullinane bends down to gently intervene. The photo transfixed the public worldwide and won a Pulitzer Prize.
Maurice Cullinane was born in Washington, DC, in 1932 and grew up in the Trinidad section of the city. After completing high school, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1951 and served until 1953, when he received an honorable discharge.
In 1954, he became the third member of his family to join the Metropolitan Police Department, following his father and great-uncle. He began his career as a patrolman in the First Precinct. Private Cullinane was the last person ever promoted to corporal as he made his way through the ranks. By 1973 he rose to the rank of Assistant Chief of Police and served as Field Operations Officer. He was promoted to Chief in 1974 and helped lead the Police Department to a reputation as one of the most progressive and professional police departments in the nation. Under his leadership, an ingenious “Sting” operation to recover stolen property was undertaken that successfully netted over one hundred arrests.
Better known to many as “Cully”, he had a reputation as one of the best-serving chiefs. His tenure took him through the nation’s Bicentennial celebrations in 1976, the institution of Home Rule for the city, and one of the most harrowing times in this city’s history when hostages were taken simultaneously in three separate buildings. The District Building, the B’nai B’rith building, and the Islamic Mosque were all stormed by armed men of the Hanafi Movement. Chief Cullinane and his Command Staff deftly managed the handling of this international incident. Unfortunately, lives were lost in the initial takeovers, but a peaceful resolution was found after days of negotiation.
Chief Cullinane took a personal interest in the Department and his personnel and once talked a despondent officer out of killing himself. He also railed against the City Council and their proposed budget cuts and signed and agreed upon the first Labor Union contract in the Department’s history. Many current and retired officers were proud to know him, including among the DC Police Memorial Board of Directors.
Cully was close to the late Katharine Graham, owner of the Washington Post, and her son, Don. A former MPD officer himself, Don Graham is a major supporter of the DC Police Memorial and Museum and our efforts to renovate the current dilapidated memorial fountain and to build a new memorial wall. DC Police Memorial Board Chair Don Blake met with Cully and Don periodically to discuss the project, which is now nearing completion with a Dedication Ceremony scheduled for May. We were proud that Cully attended the groundbreaking ceremony in July of 2022. He was looking forward to the upcoming Dedication.
We will certainly be thinking of him and his personal contributions to our city and the MPD while we dedicate the new Memorial Fountain and Memorial Wall honoring the 125 MPD officers who have died in the line of duty since the founding of the MPD. Rest easy brother. We thank you.
(Photo above by Our Town With Host Andy Ockershausen)
(Photo above by William Beall, entitled “Faith and Confidence”)