| Show THE CASE OF CALEB W WEST JR TOE THE statement has baa been published and not denied that caleb W west jr while partially intoxicated and in the presence of a number of persons near the p principal rin cipal thoroughfare of this city covered a young man with a revolver and on pain of instant death compelled him to dance while this performance was in progress a young man named joseph nelson approached the spot where it wa going on when young west without provo gation sort a aimed I 1 in ed hiu bits revolver at nelsons belsons Nel sons neck and at point blank range pulled the trigger and that the revolver contained at least three charges but the hammer fortunately fell on an empty chamber I 1 it t was a narrow escape of nelson from being shot in a vital part nelson ran to the city hall and reported to a police officer the attempt that had just been made upon his life and the further fact that west had threatened to kill him yet the officer refused to act without a warrant it being evening there was not an attorney at the city hall to draw a com complaint pl aint and no officer at hand band authorized to issue a warrant nelson tried repeatedly but in vain to secure the arrest of west by the police department of the city but was baffled because of an evident purpose of the officers not to make the arrest west is still at large confirmatory of the forego ing and particularly of the disposition of the police department of the city in regard to the case the following is taken from the chief I 1 liberal organ of the the case of caleb was not brought up in court yesterday and the reason as stated by the chief of pollee police in as follows county prosecutor moyle put a representative named easton into the police court some time ago to attend to the county business and such cases generally as did not come under the city ordinances bat for the last three weeks mr easton has been on a picnic pic pie nic in colorado business he be was supposed to take care of went six ways for sunday except such pressing matters as assistant city attorney elcanor was willing to put himself out to attend to it is not his place to look after county attorney torney Al moyles business he cannot be expected to do it unless paid and easton never even een suggested pay when he went away T the prosecution n of young west comes in mr r joylea jurisdiction and as he has not deputized mr eichnor the latter would have to conduct the case without pay something lawyers are not overanxious over anxious to do moreover ke he was very busy at the time with city business which he be was paid to attend to and he did attend to his conducting the case of the gun play on officer raleigh was gratuitous on his part and was done bemuse because brother moyle could not or did not attend to his business if moyle will appear and ask for a warrant there will be no trouble about its being served the chief know but that the grand jury would handle the case and save all the pr preliminary elimina r trouble trouble and expense of bringing it into the lower court prom from the foregoing it would seem that the chief of police holds his department part ment under no noAll gatior to make arrests for any offenses except those which are in violation of a city ordinance felonies will not be cognizable by his bis subordinates if a policeman ses sep two men fighting with fists and feet be will arrest them because fighting of that character would be a violation of a city ordinance but if one man cuts another mans man 8 throat with fatal effect the case acme is county business and the city police need not exert themselves to apprehend the murderer should a witness of the homicide seek to procure his arrest he must see the county attorney the city attorney is not net paid to prepare affidavits nor warrants for the arrest of felons burglary is 18 a felony therefore the arrest and pro prosecution se cution of burglars is county business and outside the purview of the city police any citizen who imagines that the wear ers era of blue suits and brass buttons buttOn sJ who promenade the streets are paid to protect the people from being shot at the caprice of drunken desperadoes pera does or to be a check upon the enterprising burglar or to interfere I 1 in n a restraining way with persons who contemplate the commission or have committed any felony are laboring under a delusion this la is all county business if citizens fear housebreakers they must apply to the county for protection if they have been shot or shot at they should save themselves time trouble and disappointment by applying to the sheriffs office passing the city hall if however a citizen is disturbed by a discordant noise orif he is annoyed by the damping flum ping of garbage in the street a representative of the police department will rush with hair streaming in the wind and coat tall tail flapping in the breeze to arrest the offender in so go grave abir an emergency a warrant will r rot ot be waited for but the culprit will be secured first and formalities at feud ed to afterwards but should an intoxicated ruffian disturb a citizens place by she shooting 0 till 9 instead of yel yelling lini at him and further add to his discomfort by threatening to till hill him later nothing can be i done until some magis has been convinced by an affidavit that an offense has been committed and issues a warrant to an officer the danger that hat the criminal may escape cuts no figure in alleviating the necessity for red tape however absurd the foregoing deductions may appear they logically fonow the position taken by the chief of police in the west case if he is correctly represented by his big own organ as quoted above to show that the practice of the police department of this city has always been diverse from this position that the law makes provision for the arrest of au all classes of offenders by the city police and for the payment of the expenses of territorial cases and that the stand taken by the chief of police is untenable illogical and absurd would be vi very ery easy to do there is a widespread suspicion that some mysterious talismanic talisman c eff effect act was produced upon the police department by the announcement of the name of the culprit in the case which had a great deal more to do with its policy than did any question ti estion of official comity or refined distinctions distinctions between city and county business |
