Born on October 4, 1928, in the place of O Seixo,
Mugardos,
Galicia, Spain, Bouza came to the United States with his family at age nine, escaping the
Spanish Civil War. His father José Antonio, worked in the boiler room for the Merchant Navy, while his mother Encarnación, was a professional seamstress. He served in the
U.S. Army, and then worked briefly in sales in the garment industry in Manhattan. Bouza had a difficult relationship with the police officers he led in Minneapolis. Within weeks of becoming chief, Bouza reduced the number of police precincts from 6 to 4 and replaced two-member squads with single-member squads in most of the city. Officers blamed the 1981 murder of police officer Richard P. Miller on the switch to single-member squads. In a cost-cutting move, he also instituted a promotion freeze that ran until 1986. After stepping down as chief, Bouza served as Minnesota gaming commissioner from 1989 to 1991 and then briefly as director of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence in
Washington, D.C. After retiring from policing, Bouza testified for the defense in many trials across the country alleging police mistreatment. == Education and writing ==