The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-05-26
MR.. AvEGNO'S STATEMENT.
7 0 the Editors of the Bulletin:

As only one of the city papers has given
a correct account or the outrage committed
against me by Capt. Mccain, of the me-
tropOlitan police, aided and abetted by two
ruffians, who, / subsequently learned, also
belong to that body, l feel compelled to
publish a statement of what occurred, in
order that the peaceable and orderly citizens
of New Orle ans may fully realize whether
they have still any rights which the police
are bound to respect.
On Friday last, at half-past 10 o'clock P.
NJ, as / was returning lelsurely home from
a walk, was hailed on Carondelet Walk
between IRENE and st. Claude, by mar
who suddenly emerged from the darkness at
the distance Of seven or eight paces and
who, pointing pistol at me, said: " Stop,
or l will shoot you" l answered Why
should Istop, and why will you shoot at met"
"No answer being given, quickened my
pace, when the same order was repeated in
a lower tone Of voice !; the party who gave
it, in the meanwhile, moving towards me
in stealthy manner.
had no weapon, and was walking with
a lighted cigar in my mouth, and was fol-
longing to me. The unavoidable impression
created upon my mind was that was about
to be robbed, perhaps murdered; and, hav-
ing no means of protecting myself, l kept
retreating, when the party who had halted
me again commanded me to stop, as he
would shoot me. Considering my life in
danger. quickened my steps until reached
the corner of Basin street aud Carondelet
Walk, when l turned towards st. Peter
street, and, giving the alarm, ran into a
coffee house on the coriler Of Basin and St.
Peter streets, which was then open, though
| saw no one within. .s5. =r
Tal-inr cour1o Of tumh1arr from, fbo
counter for self-protection, stood behind a
door leading to another room within, when
the landlady came in, together with several
other parties from the street, and as l was
relating to them what had inst occurred,
man dressed in citizens clothes came in,
and, addressing me very roughly, said:
!" Hush up, you don't know nothing; if you
don't hush | shall lock You up" Feeling
justly indignant at the tone and language
Of this individual, replied: DO you ex-
pect me to be silent after my life has been
threatened by a robert" AS was talk
ing, he very man who had leveled his pis-
tol at me came into the coffee house; where
upon pointed him out as the party who
had threatened to shoot me, and inquired
who he was.
After allowing me to repeat that question
two CT three times, the man who had or
dered me to ''hush up" finally eyaded to
answer by saying: Never mind that, man,
| take it all upon myself" whereupon re-
torted, Sand who are you n to which query
he replied, with much arrogance, II am
Capt. McCannw l then remarked: SHOW
comes it that Capt. Mccain is now taking
the part of robber and an assassin To
this the Captain replied by again command
ing me to be silent, as | was disturbing the
peace, and he would send me to Jail if | did
not stop talking. At the same moment |
was grabbed on the shoulder by another
man. also dressed as a citizen, but whom l
subsequently discovered to be Sergeant Gray,
and 10y another policeman, who seized me
and prevented me from speaking. or sen.ing
some one to my friends and relatives living
i'll that neighborhood.
These two men continued to abnse, i'll
treat and strike me until they had brought
me inside Of the IRENE Station, where, after
we had passed one OF two iron doors, they
pushed me up flight of stairs, leading to
action by violence and Opprobriuus Ian
guage. They were about to lock me up
when Capt. Rey, who came up just then,
requested them to wait till he could ascer-
tain the nature of the charge against mo,
and who, after discovering how utterly fu-
tile aud improbable it was, insisted upon
taking me into his private Office, making
himself responsible for my custody, and
treating me in gentlemanly manner until
the order for my release was procured from
Recorder Staes.
have taken the proper steps to bring to
justice Ill who took part in this brutal as
sault upon me, but also deem it my duty
to publish this statement in order that the
citizens Of New Orleans may be we'll in
formed rs to the manner. in which some Of
I. h...., No. c.llad nrotecfOra of lift, and DrOD-
erty understand their mission, and rs to the
powers they assume over us.
If outrages can be committed with lmpnni-
~ ~ Nav Orleans, which even Turkish
bashaw would not dare to perpetrate in the
remotest provinces of the Ottoman Empire
if respectable aud well-behavod citizens can
b. insulted, beaten and locked mp, 1t the mere
within Of such people = Capt. McCann and
6orxoant Gray, then the s0ener We all know