National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1877-06-13
4 Police OUTRAGE.


| iA'''s NhN NlNh w lllt lOllCt NONTl
on the charge of asSaulting and resisting Lieut.
Austin Of the Fifth police precinct, In the dis.
charge of his duty. This charge grew out OF
an affair nj the Chesapeake last Sunday night
when Lieut. Austin, Sergeant leach and OH.
| Ger DAILY entered the restaurant to see whether
liquor was being sod, and were intcrfcrcd
| with by Finley VIII prying into a small
apartment In the rear of the restaurant. II
| witnesses of undisputcd crciihility are to be
| believed on oath the trial yesterday amounted
to an exposition Of an unwarrantcd proceeding
and an outrage on the part Of the officers.
| The principal points made against them were
the arbitrary conduct of the Lieutenant and
| the insulting and threatening language of the
Sergeant. Liquor dealers in the city were gen
orally interested in the disposition Of the case,
| because 1t was believed that the powers of the
| police In entering restaurants TO detect yiola-
tions of the law would he settled. Lawyer l..
a. liinc appeared as counsel for Finley.
Lieut. Austin, as the complaining witness,
was first put upon the stand. His testimony
was in substance Us follows: sunday night.
about 10 o'clork, having been informed that
the Sunday law was being violated at the
| Chesapeake, after observing several parties
| pass In and ont of the restaurant. remaining
in about long enough to get a drink. he and
Sergeant leach went across the street and
| entered the restaurant. When they ap-
preached the door somebody on the pavement
outside stepped up to the door and raped on
| pane of glass, as a warning to those inside.
He and the Sergeant entered and hurried
across the room to the private apartment in
the rear, partitioncd off with lattice-work.
He stopped to look between the lattcc-worl,
whcn he was seized from behind by Mr.
Finley and violently wrcstcd away from the
door. He grabbed hold of me-" said the
Lieutenant, "wrrstcd me away from the door,
aud called me id sneak" On the cross
examination the Lieutenant testified that
VIM. Dickson came TO the station with Finley,
and he had ordered him out. Dickson asked,
| is this public place." and the Lieutenant
| had replied, No, sir; not ut all times"
Dickson was noisy and boisicrus. and did not
ask to see Finley, who W.T., locked up in cell.
| Sergeant Leach was next examined and
| corrubOrltrd the Lieutenant In the main. He
saw Finley catch hold of the Lieutenant. The
| witness had no pistol.
Private DAILY, the Officer who WIS present at
the Chesapeake sunday night, WAS not cx-
aminci
There was some cnllOIuY here between the
| Court and Mr.. llnc in regard to the right of
the officers to enter the restaurant. Mr.. iIne
| held that the private apartment in the rGIr of
| the restaurant was rs sacred rs the private
apartment in a dwelling house Judge Smell
remarked that ir the officers had information
that the lattice work was Coutrivanrc To en-
| able til" prUprirtOrs to violate the liquor law
| the officers had u right to examine it. Mr.
| hinc argued that means wrrC only justified
| by ends, and rs they failed to find what they
entered FOR, the officers must suffer the penalty
| Of their tCmCGitN. The Court ruled that the
officers were legally in the house. Mr. Hme
was inclined to allow the ease to be- sent to
| the grand jury rs 1t stOud. hut wished to have
record of his witnesses made to 90 up with
the witnesses for the prosecution. As he could
| not do this he decided to examine his wit
| neSScs before the Court. and the sequel was
I . Al. q. ~
sity for sending the case TO the grand jury.
The first witness called for the defense was
Mr.. William Dickson. Mr. Dickson. who was
one Of tho parties in the restaurant at tho
time the oiic, entered, said he heard u hustle,
anil rising from his seat bChind the desk. oh
| served Lieut.. Austin Crnuching at the door Of
| the private room. and booking through the
lattice. Finley approached the Lieutenant
and snid, That's private room.
I'm tired Of this ,nIaking business; there's no
violation Of the law here The lieutenant
then got ~, pushed against Finley, and tax.
in. him by the collar Of the coat threw him
tn the end Of the PARTITION. The witness was
| emphatic in saying that Finley had touched
IN" lieutenant IN no way. shap" or form.
When Finley recovered himself and the Off
c'rs closed Ia upon him, h" rctratrd to the
desk, saying that the proceeding was m ont
rage, and ordering the officers out. Tho off
GERS followed him around the desk and sur
rounded him. The witness intvricrrd and
said that IL was an excess of authority. and
the officers hal no right To take Finley with
ont warrant. The lieutenant replied with Il
profan" Cpithet, nud said that he was going to
take him anyhow. When the lieutenant first
took hold of Finley. aud the latter attempted
to throw him OF, Scra cant Leach said. Kill
the s. of 4 b, and the Mitncrs, catch.
ing his arm, said, None Of thaI; don't strike
him"
In the cro~s-cXHmination Attorney Miller
asked Mr.. Dickson. did the offices have any
intention tn arr, It Mr. Fmlcvy'
Il dUu't know what their intention was"
wuS the reply, but they pcrpetrtcd the
most high-handcl outrage / ever saw
The witness was s"lCmnly emphatic about
the words used by Leach. lie suid: Know
ing that have God to meet, and knowing
that am on oath. I say he used the words,
X i'll the s. OF a b."
The first time the Lieutenant said you are
my prisoner" WIS when Finley went behind
the desk aud the only persons who were vio-
lent wrrr The officers.
\. jackson Ne blair was Also witness for
the defense, and his statement WAS similar to
that made by the preceding witness. He wac
positive that Leach used the words Kill the
S-n OF - b-h," aud raised his club as il TO
st rike Finley. He ulsn stated that Austin took
hold of Finley before Finley touched him. He
saw NJ Tnv in th"privatc room. lie was purs-
klUuth NlfH'lN WI INSTRUMENTATION NktInCT
he WIS furnished with liquor in the house that
night hut declined to state. When the Lieu
tenant stopped ut the door Mr.. Finley said
that IL WAS u private room.
Al. supplcc, Mr.. Finlcy's partner, was also
put on III" stand. His testimony was similar
in every + spcct to that given 10y Dickson and
McBluir only It was little rnughcr on the
officer. When Leach said xiii tho s--u Of u
b-h' he raised his club. and, running his
hands in his pocket, exhibited pistol, when
the witness grabbed hi, arm and asked what
he wanted to kill him for.
The owner Oithc premises occupied by Fin
ley d Supplco MIR, VI. Il. Combs WAS called,
and his testimony showed that the restaurant
or diuinr.rOOm in which the bar Il situated
took mp nearly the entire first floor of the
building which is 10 by 20 feet lie did not
consider the apartment lattccd oil aS scra-
rate ROOM but rs part Of the restaurant Mr..
Combs wished to argue Il point with the Court,
but the Court declined to hear il then, and i'll
vitcd Mr.. Combs to come TO his house and
argue it,
The Court, without proceeding further, re-
marked to the prosecuting attorney that he
could not send the case to the grand jury on
that evidence, and he discharged the prisoner.
TwILLRD silk Umbrellas, $50 >rINEMcrz 1871
Pennsylvania avenue
IBITING NTIS.iNCES.
Trying to suppress Malaria from the River
Flats