Show POLICE OFFICERS By Lawrance Maynard In think that the greatest trouble with most police officers is that they have inflated egos and like t to show their authority This is particularly true of younger young young- er officers They do not try to und understand youthful exuberance and make it their point to exercise exercise exercise exer exer- cise their authority whenever they see a group of boys engaged in any little infraction of the code I remember an officer in our neighborhood when I was a child who made enemies of all the chilI children children chil chil- I dren and thus drove them to greater mischief to spite him He came into our neighborhood like a 11 thunderstorm loudly boasting that he would clean up the neighborhood neighborhood neighborhood neigh neigh- stop the noise of the children children children chil chil- dren and see see that there was no disturbance of the peace on his beat I He started by knocking at peoples people's peoples people's peoples people's peo peo- ples doors as early as nine o'clock o 0 o o'clock clock in iri the the evening commanding them to shut off their graphs Those were the days be before before be be- fore radios Naturally the adults were indignant at this and not in a frame of mind to reprimand their offspring later latter on when he took it upon himself t to enforce his ukase against youthful pleas pleas- ure Th The children en had been in the habit abit of playing a game called Run un Sheep Run in the street and in the yards up until n nine o'clock at which time it was the custom of parents to call in their children for the night This mighty ty arm of the law issued his Ws order order order or or- der that no more should the children children children chil chil- dren run shouting about the neighborhood neighborhood neighborhood neigh neigh- playing a rowdy game like Run Sheep Run Nor could they play any other games which called for or shouting They must be quiet And he told them with threatening implications they must go h home me at nine Not fot one of those children had ever ever thought of staying out after nine o'clock but when the policeman police police- man threatened dire things if they failed to go home at that hour practically every everyone one of those boys and girls ranging in inage inage inage age from ten to fifteen years re re- re- re There was much indignant whispering whispering whispering whis whis- on the street t corners under under under un un- un- un der the big That cop thinks hes he's smart Thinks hes he's our boss Who Vho does he think he heis heis heis is Well I aint scared of him am I the big stiff I III aint going home when Ma calls me to If Neither am I. I And so from that date on the mothers of the neighborhood strained their voices calling from front porches but their shouts were in vain Fathers were called upon to go forth in 11 search of their suddenly recalcitrant boys and girls and many of the younger ones were lead home by the ears The cop blustered about threatening threatenIng threatening threaten threaten- ing but all he got for his pains was the derisive hoots of the boys as they scampered out of his reach The grand climax came on the Fourth of July All day the boys shot off firecrackers which were plentiful in those days before the safe and sane Fourth had made the national holiday a tame affair They also made a compound of potash and sulphur which detonated detonated detonated deton deton- with an earsplitting explosion ion under the blow of a stone or other heavy object The greatest thrill however came from placing bits of this home made explosive on the street streetcar car tracks When the cars rolled over it the resulting noise was entirely entirely entirely en en- satisfactory to the boys and the ire of ot the motorman and the nervous jumps and exclamations t I of the passengers filled youthful hearts with great joy But our efficient policeman had no soul for the spirit of liberty when expressed at the thc expense of the transit company's rolling stock Ho Iio lay in wait and nabbed nabb d four of the boys in the act At first they laughed thinking he was joking jolting But as he went to the call box and actually ordered the patrol wagon their faces pal pal- ed They began to plead He was obdurate I told you kids I wouldn't stand for no mankey business Now you go to jail I And to jail they went One boy was fourteen one twelve and two were something like eleven years old Jail was an awesome word to them They really were scar scar scar- ed But the officers took them in the patrol wagon to the precinct precinct precinct pre pre- station Of course all the neighbors had gathered to see the spectacle and maybe you think the parents of those f four ur boys weren't ed I know that we felt that we were disgraced for life We felt humiliated and at the same time we felt the beginning of a n defiant attitude toward the law Here was a cop who had arrested us for doing something boys had been doing for years something which to us had been nothing more that a boyish prank But this officer officer officer of of- treated treated us as criminals It so happened that the precinct captain had more intelligence He looked us over listened to the officers officer's officers officer's officers officer's of of- story and smiled a bit He told us not to do it again Next time he made us understand he would lock us up and we might i go to the reform school Then he told the officer to take us ho home e eto to our parents and order them to spank us and keep us in for the rest of the day Thus we lost half of the Fourth of July and had to watch the sky rockets and roman candles from our front porches that night Our parents did not span spank It us They still resented resented resented re re- re- re the cops cop's or orders ers to turn turnoff turnoff off the phonographs The whole neighborhood resented resent resent- ed this cop and as a a. policeman rep represents represents represents resents law wherever he may be those peoples people's resentment of the Ule bullying attitude of one officer conditioned their attitude toward all law enforcement I know that I the children became more and I Imore more defiant staying out later i ithan than ever just to spite the cop I ITo To anger him they took to pouring pouring pouring pour pour- ing paint on sidewalks to the breaking of windows in vacant vacant houses They couldn't play Run Sheep Run any more but they could do lots of things which were more quiet and more devilish Youngsters who are shouting and playing usually arent aren't getting into very serious mischief It is 15 when they begin to congregate on the street corner comer talking In Inlow inlow inlow low tones that trouble begins to brew If officers could only learn t that children do more for a cop who gains their confidence by trying trying trying try try- ing to help them by advising them kindly by proving his friendship friendship friendship friend friend- ship in various ways such as reprimanding reprimanding reprimanding rep rep- adults who endanger them on the streets streets streets-if if cops would learn that children hate obvious espionage and regulation and will I become mean in their efforts to get back at the officers who goes after them with the whip of fear the officers would find that after all children are not so bad not so hard to manage |