St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-15
NelS White and His Wife Both
Get Good-Sized judy
ments.
Aid. E. G. Potter Talks on the
City Doing Its Own
Work.
So ms Of Revolutionary Fa-
theirs Form a Little Order
of Their Own.
Seibert's Interest Will Not
Approve Settlement Of
the Crossings Case.

Judge Rea's court room was, of
course, full of spectators again yester-
day morning, because ofHthe case of
Nels White and his wife against GER
tain South side officers had not been
finished. AS soon as the jurymen were
found to be all In the box. John ReeS
stood up, and for over an hour certain
Minneapolis guardians of the peace sat
in their chairs and wished that they had
never heard of Nels White. 1t was
the best arraignment of the high
handed way in which the Minneapolis
police manage the city that has been
heard for long time. Mr. ReeS went
over all of the evidence from beginning
to end, and detailed what Mcleod and
the Otner officers did from the moment
they entered Whites hpuse'until White
had been discharged in the municipal
court. Among other things, he said:
"a bully has no more right on the
police force than libertine has in the
pulpit. When an officer takes adyan-
tage Of citizen from his posi-
ton he is worthy of the
most severe censure." Mr.. Rees
said that the time had come when the
outrageous acts Of the Minneapolis po-
lice officers should be stopped, and that
it lay in the power OF that jury to stop
it, and he impressed upon them that at
any moment their homes might be
broken into by these human wolves.
Judge Rea then charged the jury, and
he was most emphatic in what he said.
Assistant City Attorney Halls face be-
came longer and longer as the judge
proceeded, until his form was complete
ly envelOped in his cOuntenance. A
part OF the charge ran thus:
''When an officer makes an arrest for
any offenSe without warrant he must
have such knowledge as would lead
person OF ordinary prudence to believe
that the person arrested committed that
otfense. At the beginning of the trouble
at 259 Tenth avenue south Oh that night
a gross outrage was committed on this
man and his family and their guests,
according to the plaintiff by the
defendant, and according to the
defendants testimony by two I'M
known men, who entered that house in
such manner as would arouse Che
breast of any man, and would justify
the plaintiff in the use of any force
which might be necessary to put them
out land the law has such regard for the
weakness Of human nature under those
circumstances that if under the excite
ment of the moment man should use
more force than was actually necessary,
| don't think the law would hold him
guilty. Ii the defendant Mcleod
went into the house upon hearing
the cry, and stated that he was
a policeman and showed his star, he
acted perfectly proper. and it was the
duty of the plaintiff to recognize the
officer and call upOn him to arrest the
men and not to attack him. But ii Otfl-
Ger Mcleod was in the house with these
men and saw the insult offered to this
mans family, and was put out OF it
under the circumstances in the manner
testified to by this plaintiff and these
witnesses, then Officer Mcleod knew
there was no just ground for the arrest
OF the plaintiff; and if you find that he
was in there and witnessed what tran
spired, even though the plaintiff did
subsequently put him out with force,
there was no probable ground for the
arrest"
Judge Rea laid particular stress upon
the point that an officer has no right to
strike prisoner when making an
arrest unless it be absolutely necessary,
and that nothing will justify an officer
in abusing prisoner and calling him
vile names. The Judges charge, how
ever, rather leaned in favor OF all the
policeman, except Mcleod and Stoblo.
The jury went out little before
noon and returned just before six
o'clock with verdict for the plaintiffs.
Mrs. White gets 50, 200, and her husband
gets 5000, $1,000 in all. All but two Of
the jurymen were for giving the Whites
the full $4,000 sued for.
These judgments are joint several,
eYcent i'm the case of Mrs. White. i'm
which Officer Stoblo being excepted.
The judgments can be collected from
one or from all of the defendants. but it
is probable that nothing will ever be
collected. Some of the officers are be-
lieved to have property, but the title
may be vested in some one of their fam
lilies. Sergt. Allen is said to have
boosted yesterday that the Whites
WOuId never get a cent out of him.