Law Enforcement
Dec 06, 2021
Commissioner William Gross
Law Enforcement

William G. Gross, born c. 1964, is a former American police officer who served as Commissioner of the Boston Police Department for 29 months, from August 2018  to January 2021 Gross was born in rural Maryland to a single mother, the middle of three children, and moved to Boston at the age of 12.[2]

He graduated from Boston Technical High School (now the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science).[2] He then entered the Boston Police Cadet Program, becoming a Patrol Officer two years later.[3] Gross earned an Associate in Science degree in Criminal Justice from Quincy College in 2017.[4]

As a patrol officer, Gross served in the Anti-Youth Violence Strike Force and the Drug Control Unit, and later was an instructor at the Boston Police Academy. He achieved the ranks of Sergeant and Sergeant Detective, and then became Deputy Superintendent in 2008.

On August 6, 2018, Boston mayor Marty Walsh officiated the ceremony during which Gross was sworn in as Commissioner of the Boston Police Department. On January 28, 2021, Commissioner Gross announced his retirement.