The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-03-25

On Tuesday, March IL, formal charges
were presented to the Board of Police
against Captain Williams for an alleged
violent assault on William Vincent Blake,
at Gilmore's Garden, week previously.
and the trial was set down for Monday,
March "a, after an interval of six days.
Yesterday, when the case was called before
the Police Commissioners, Captain Will
iams asked for postponement of two
weeks on five distinct grounds. First, he
claimed that he had not been allowed suf-
ficient time to prepare o defence second.
that he had strong presumptivo evidence
Of tho use Of illegal measures to procure
evidence against him third. that the COM
plant against him had not been referred to
the Committee on Rules and Discipline in
accordance with the rule Of the department !;
fourth, that there had been no meeting
of.the Police Board since the papers were
served on him. and that he had conse-
quently had no opportunity to obtain from
the Commissioners permission to employ
counsel; and, fifth, that he deemed it right
that the full Board of four Commissioners
should preside over his trial.
The reasons given by Captain Williams
for the postponement of the trial ore of the
fimsiest character. He is charged with as
saulting man who had committed no Of
fence warranting his arrest, and he could
have prepared his defence against such an
accusation in five days as easily as
in five weeks or five months. If illegal
means have been used to obtain evidence
against him the fact can only be brought
ton raises no cause for postponing
the triul. The objection that the complaint
had not been referred to the Committee on
Rules and Discipline is exploded by the
fact that the Police Board preferred the
charges by resolution, as they had the per-
feet right to do. The permission to employ
| counsel could have been obtained from the
President at any moment or from the Board
yesterday and the claim that the full Board
should preside over the trial is unprece-
denied and unwarranted either by the law
or the practice Of the Board. The law pre-
scribes the cases in which full Board is
required to act, and the trial of officers is
Al
ever, been had before full Board.
Flimsy as the reasons for postponement
are, however, the trial has been put off for
ten days, or until April 3, Commissioner
Smith alone voting against the delay. We
regard tho action Of the Board as objection
able, and, under the circumstances, unjus-
tifable. If the charges ore true the ar
raigned officer should not be allowed to
carry o club ten days or ten hours. Their
truth or falsity can be easily established.
Delay only offers facilities for tampering
with witnesses, and is particularly unjust
to the person alleged to have been assaulted,
who resides at some distance from the city,
and has nothing but consideration for the
public interest to induce him to prosecute.
No reasonable person would desire that
Captain Williams should be denied the
opportunity to make a defence, if he has
any to make. But this is not the first nc
cusation of the kind brought against that
| officer, and there is no reason to believe
that his. rights would have been in any
degree impaired by trial yesterday.
| Under these circumstances the action Of the
majority Of the Board in postponing the
case will be looked upon with grave sus-
picion, and will necessarily strengthen
rumors that reflect not on Captain Williams
| only, but on those members of tho Police
Commission who seem singularly averse to
bringing him to Justice