BPD Remembers: Today, members of the Boston Police Department honor the memory of Patrolman Daniel A. McCallum, who died in the line of duty on May 12, 1935, while faithfully carrying out his duties in service to the City of Boston.
Patrolman McCallum was killed in a motorcycle accident on the Jamaicaway while escorting Governor James Michael Curley’s motorcade. While navigating a winding stretch of road, he swerved to avoid a collision with another vehicle and struck a tree. He was 40 years old.
Known to his fellow officers as “Fifteen-Mile-an-Hour McCallum” for the careful and deliberate manner in which he rode, Patrolman McCallum had earned the trust of the department’s highest-profile assignments, having escorted motorcades for President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President Herbert Hoover, among other dignitaries.
Born in Cambridge in 1895, Patrolman McCallum served in the United States Army during World War I, where he was gravely wounded in France. He was appointed to the Boston Police Department in July 1920 and served for 15 years, assigned to Division 7, Division 21, and Division 16 in the Back Bay. At the time of his passing, he had been married for just six months. His brother, also a Boston Police officer, served at the West Roxbury station.
Patrolman McCallum was laid to rest at Cambridge Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His name is inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Panel 11, East Line 14. He is also honored on the Hero Wall at Boston Police Headquarters and the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial at the State House in Boston.
In Boston, a Hero Sign is posted on Jamaica Way near Bynner Street in his permanent honor. If you are in the area, please take a moment to remember a man who gave his life in the service of this city, and to recognize the loved ones who mourned his loss.
