Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-09-23
HOMICIDE IN "HELL'a BOTTOM :,
"A Man Shot Dead by u Policeman.

DEPssCE.
Yesterday morning, about 1:30 O'Clock, on,
Gers Gers chase and Whiting, OF the 2d precinct, no
| ueed Two men near the corner o. l2th AMI c
\ SIees, In the neighborhood known as 'H III
bOttom, whose actions were such az ~ arouss
| susplcions that they were CATER TO good" Or
| peing ordered away, they replied that they
would not 20, rs the streets were free. The Off
\ GERS then tried to arrest them, and succeeded IN
capturing one, but while they were on theil
way TO the second precinct station with him
4 they were attacked by half a dozen men sno
| women. During the melee the prisoner wa;
| taken from them, and started 70 run. Officer
4 Chase followed him into the yard OF Tho mas
1 Hurlihey. A colored ~ An named W. III. Jone:
| had made himself conspicuous in the attack or
the officers. Officer Chase crossed over toward.
Jones house in pursuit of his rele ased prisoner
| when a pistol shot was fired at the officer by
| Jones. Chase returned the shot from his pistol
| and the bullet struck Jones in the breast, in
fictng wound which caused his death in a
Oficer Chase IS a eeIored man, young in DO.
lice duty, having been on the force about three
Jones is also colored, and has Just been dis
charged from the Unite i States navy, where he
had served three years, aud is represented to
have been rough customer. He was rem )ved
after the shooting to house near 18th and Q
streets, ami left IN cha ge of Off GER Caruthars.
Before the physician DIR. John L. Winter ar
rived, Jon &c was dead.
THE INQUEST.
coroner Patterson, held an inquest yesterd1 Y
morning, when Belle WhittingtOn, the woman
with whom Jones was living as his wife, test lie
that between l and O'Clock In the morning
Jones was in her house aad the officer tried to
arrest a man on the pavement, a stranger to
her, and dragged him out into the street. He
Then got away from the officer and ran thr0lg h
the yard. The cthcer came iatO the yard and
cred pistol. zones and the officer were on
good terms, and never had any difficulty.
Mary Foster testified that she saw an Off GER;
lie had hold OF man, who got away from him
and ran into the yard. After he went into the
yard witness saw Bill Jones ami two pffi GERS
i he two officers were walking behind him.
Bill Jones stopped and stood beside the off GERS
The officers said something to Jones that wit
ness could not understand. The officer who was
standing by the plivy, shot Off pistol. Witness
saw the two officers have pistols, and saw no
other person have pistol. The shots she heard
were tred CLOSE together. At the time there
was crowd of men around the man, and
witness thought they were trying to get the pri-
Soner away. The crowd were talking very loud &.
Witness saw the man when he jerked him self
away from the officer. The officers fired both
shots-each one.
John Henry, colored, testified that he saw
man struggling with a policeman; soon after,
the man became disengaged and escaped into
the yard, the officer following; saw a fash OF a
pistol, and Immediately another, which seemed
from the direction where the policeman was.
The first shot came from the yard. The man
who escaped from the officer wore light clothes
and was tall. Heard a woman say, "You have
killed hin" and the officer replied: she shot
at me first.'
Francis Porter testified that he heard the
Olucer W nat You doing ont this time of
night Witness did not know the man who
was talking to the officer. Jones was close to
witness when the first shot was fred, and he,
Jones, fred it. The man who ran away from
the officer had on dark clothes. The shooting
was al in the yard, and not in the street at all.
DIR. Hsrtigan testified that death was no doubt
the result OF hemorThage.
Catherine Akers testified that she was lust
behind Jones when the OH Ger turned and fired
shot which killed him. The powder flashed in
her face.
Officer j. c. whiting testified that about 80
O'Clock Chase and himself had taken prisoner
to the station; saw two men walking back and
forth near near StutZ's store; watched their
movements; witness inquired of them why they
were lOatng there, and if they had any home;
they replied eyes," but il was a free country
and they would loaf W here they id peased
after further colloquy witness started up the
street to arrest them; caught one of them and
he showed fight; witness and Chase both got
hold OF him, when crowd took him from them
and the man ran away, witness following, with
the crowd after him; witness saw Jones fire at
Chase, and witness told Chase to return the fire,
which he did, and afterwards ran out and stood
In the middle OF the street; witness blew his
whistle, and the sergeant appeared in about
and the sergeant ordered the officers to dis
perse il.
Here the jury went into the yard to examine
the premises where the shooting took place and
found that one ball had lodged in the house at
the corner.
The pistol fred by the officer is one OF Colts,
and of the ordinary size.
Oficer Dyson corroborated the testimony
given by Whiting.
Officer Chase testified that he went 20 the gate
nearest 18th street, and as he passed the stairs
the man Jones caught hold Of witness and asked
where are you going or what do you want here
witness replied that be was United States Off
Ger and broke loose from him. The dead man
fired at witness and witness turned and fired at
him.
The balls were then sent to a drug store
opposite to be weighed, and they we're fOunI to
weigh as follows: The one taken from body ,
drahmsSX grains and the other 2 brahms.
George Harris, colored, testified that Jones
was III the habit of carrying pistol.
THE VERDICT.
The jury returned the following verdict That
the said " Ii. Jones came to his death about
l5O O'Clock, q. M, on the 22d day Of September,
l612, near the corner OF 18th and Q streets, in
the city Of Washington and county aforesaid
by reason OF a wound indicted by pistol shot
III the hands OF one David Chase. an officer OF
police, who was at the time in the line OF his
duty and trying TO arrest a prisoner. The jury
further believe from the evidence that the said
Jones first fired at Chase and that Chase's shot
was fired in self defence.