Who played Chief Dan Mathews ?
Broderick Crawford, who had won an academy award in 1949 for All the King’s Men. Chief was the highest position in the CHP up until 1947, when they went to having a commisioner. So, the indication was he was the head of the Highway Patrol. If you notice, he never had a boss. However, in real life, his rank would have been probably that of captain, since he was still in the field.