Daryl F. Gates

Daryl Francis Gates entered the Los Angeles Police Department over half a century ago, in 1949, working among others on the Manson Family and the Hillside Stranglers murders, and promptly rose through the ranks of the LAPD, eventually becoming its chief in 1978. He went in the footsteps of his mentor, ex-chief of police William Parker, creating the famous special police unit SWAT in 1965, and developing the successful anti-drug program D.A.R.E.

After the infamous LA riots, with 43 years of service with the LAPD, and 13 years as its chief, Daryl Gates was forced to resign - and only after heavy clashes with Tom Bradley, then the mayor of the city of Los Angeles.

After that, the Chief wrote an autobiography (entitled "Chief") and got involved with Sierra On-Line, creating "Police Quest 4: Open Season" and then the "SWAT" simulation/strategy series, paying close attention to maximum reality already since PQ4. He was also the president and CEO of Global ePoint, a digital security and homeland defense company.

Gates died on April 16th 2010 after a battle with bladder cancer. He was 83.