Michael Toal, 82, who survived more than a year in a German prison camp during World War II before a 36-year career with the NYPD, died Monday, his family said.
“He was a legend in the NYPD, and was very compassionate to prisoners due to his own time as a POW,” said retired Detective Tom Nerney, 67, referring to Toal’s 1943 capture by the Germans in Italy. Toal was a prisoner for 16 months.
He served in the 36th Army Division and fought in the North African and Sicilian campaigns before his capture, his brother, Joe, 70, a retired NYPD sergeant, said.
Toal was born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He joined the NYPD in 1946, and soon became well-known throughout the borough.
“If you were a cop in Brooklyn during the ’50s and didn’t know Mike Toal, then you weren’t a cop in Brooklyn,” his brother said.
He retired as a lieutenant from Fort Greene’s 88th Precinct in 1982, where the commanding officer was Capt. Raymond Kelly, who is now police commissioner.
“He was an experienced, steady hand. A great guy. He was devoted to the Police Department, and he made the many who knew him proud to be fellow officers,” Kelly said, adding Toal “had a wonderful sense of humor.”
Toal also served 19 years in the Mounted Division, patrolling on a horse throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, his brother said.
Toal’s life was the subject of an article that appeared in the summer issue of Range Magazine in 2003, where he was referred to as “the New York City cowboy” because of his long service on horseback.
Toal lived in Brooklyn until 1996, when he moved to upstate Hensonville.
His wife, Genevieve, died in 2005. He is survived by four adult children and two grandchildren.
Toal’s wake will be at the Marine Park Funeral Home, 3024 Quentin Road, today from 2p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7p.m. to 9p.m.
A funeral Mass will be offered at St. Thomas Aquinas Church on Flatbush Ave. in Flatlands tomorrow at 9:30a.m. He will be buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Queens.
