Harry S. Toy (1892 – September 9, 1955) was an American politician, prosecutor, and judge.
He served as Wayne County prosecutor (1930–1935), Michigan attorney general (1935), and a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1935–1937).
In November 1936, Toy, a Republican, was defeated for reelection to the Michigan Supreme Court by Democrat Bert D. Chandler, by a vote of 862,147 to 755,227.[1] Toy later served as the commissioner of the Detroit Police Department from 1948 through 1950.[2][3]
Both as a prosecutor and as police commissioner, Toy subscribed to McCarthyism and sought to root out and destroy communism, which Toy blamed for labor activism and various societal ills.[4]
Toy planned to run for Governor of Michigan,[3] but died of a heart attack at age 63 in Detroit.[5][6][7]
References
- ^ "Official Count of State Votes Now Complete", Traverse City Record-Eagle (December 1, 1936), p. 14.
- ^ "Detroit Police Commissioners". Detroit Public Library, Detroit, MI. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ^ a b Karen Dybis, Witch of Delray, The: Rose Veres & Detroit’s Infamous 1930s Murder Mystery (2017), p. 120.
- ^ Shelton Stromquist, Labor's Cold War: Local Politics in a Global Context (2008), p. 127.
- ^ "Harry Toy Dies of Heart Ailment". Detroit Free Press. September 10, 1955. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Presentation Of The Portrait Of The Honorable Harry S. Toy, Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society.
- ^ Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society biography of Harry Toy.
