Joseph D. McNamara served as police chief for KCPD from 1973-1976. He was chief of police for the city of San Jose, California from 1976 to 1991.

Chief McNamara's career in law enforcement began in Harlem as a beat patrolman for the New York City Police Department where he rose through the ranks to deputy inspector in charge of crime analysis for New York City.

Chief McNamara served as chief of Kansas City, Missouri Police Department from 1973 until 1976 where he was a proponent of community policing. In 1976 he became police chief for the city of San Jose, California where he served until his retirement in 1991.

Along the way Chief McNamara served two years in the US Army. He also earned a doctorate in public administration at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University following a Littauer Fellowship at Harvard Law School. Dr. McNamara also served as a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University until the time of his death.