Los Angeles herald., 1892-10-05
NEAT GAMBLING INVESTIGATION
A Red-HOt Letter From Ex-
Chief Of Police Darcy.
Proceedings Yesterday at the Meet
Ing Of the Commissioners.
Humane Ofiicer wright Found Guilty on
One Charge - Some License Mat
ters-No Gambling witnesses
on Hand.

The police commissioners met yester-
day afternoon at O'Clock in the mayors
office. Present: Commissioners Thomas
A. Lewis, A. F. Mackay, M. P. Snyder
and Mayor Hazard. Absent: Commits
sioner Geo. r. Shatto.
The clerk read the minutes of the last
meeting, and filed his report.
Chief of Rolice Glass reported the
matter OF granting license to Messrs.
Garbutt & Montague, to keep saloon
at ia Macy street, together with the
protest of Mics Bell. The matter was
postponed till the next meeting.
The report OF the police department,
of work done for September, was filed.
Commissioner Mackay, chairman of
the committee of the whole, reported
that Humane Officer Wright had been
found guilty by the committee OF the
fourth count, in the charges preferred
by Maurice Hill, in the latter's affidavit,
towit: THAT Officer Wright was actu-
ated in making eaid arrest for the pur-
pose of degrading your affiant, and at
the time of said arrest applied approbi-
ous epithets toward your affiant, and
wrongfully locked him in the city Jail
for the period Of nearly twenty-four
hours" Further action on the matter
was postponed till Commissioner Shatto
should return.
A communication from Fl. W. Reitow
was read, wherein Mr.. Rei.ow wants to
know what has become of his charges
against Officer Rnkenbach, and was re-
ferred to the committee on charges.
A petition from Ben. L. Bear and 9TH
or residents of Temple street was read,
asking for the appointment OF ii. W.
Pawling as special officer for that To-
cality without pay. 1t was referred to
the chief.
The demands of Thomas Holmes for
$S2, L. A. Cardwell, $14 35, and the Los
Angeles Lighting company for $76.20
were audited and ordered paid.
Special Officer Steve Richards was dis.
missed on conviction of charges of
being guilty OF drunkenness and assault.
The witnesses summoned to testify in
the alleged Chinese gambling cases
failed to appear, but an official steno-
grapher was present who pencilled every
precious word uttered by the commits
sioners. Considerable talk was INDUCED
in about the matter, to the effect that
there is no foundation in the charges.
Mr.. Mackay remarked that he had
fixed opinion on the subject, but did not
say whatit was. Ex-Chief Burns had been
asked to come, also G. ID. Platt, and tell
what they know, but they did not come,
1t was finally decided to cite ex Chief
Burns. @. d. Platt, ex-Chief Darcy and
ex-OHcer Dorsey to appear before the
board at its next meeting, to give them
an opportunity to then and there tell
what they know about gambling and
CHANDELIERS in the celestial quarters OF
the Angel city.
CAPTAIN DARcY's STATEMENT.
In regard to the recent published
statement from Chief Glass, ex-Chief
Darcy has prepared the following state
ment:
EDITORS HERALD: My attention hav-
ing been called to an article which ap-
peared in the press relative to the pro-
ceedings in the Chinatown investigation
on last Friday, and in which the chief of
police ia reported to have said that con-
siderable OF the testimony offered could
be easily refuted, and that he (Glass)
presented a report taken from the rec
ords, covering the time that Captain
Darcy was chief OF police and Dorsey was
an Office on the force. Dorsey was not
an officer on the force while was chief
of police.
In my testimony before the police
commission stated that while was
chief OF police $500 to $4,000 per month
was turned into the city treasury and
all collected from prostitutes and
gamblers as fines and forfeitures, and
the records will show it if they are not
stolen or doctored. The proper thing to
do is to have the records in full and the
man who kept them taken before the
police commission. The article states
that the chief has had prepared state-
ment by the secretary, according to
which only 15 Cinnamon were arrested
during Darcy's administration, and
nothing was said about the disposition
of their cases. There were 16 China
men arrested by myself personally. In
the same article it is also stated that
the discrepancy between the testimony
and the records was go glaring that the
commission voted to call the attention
of Darcy or Dorsey to the matter. The
commissioners have not yet notified
me in reference to any discrepancy be-
tween my record as chief of police and
my testimony given as a witness re-
Gently before them, therefore the entire
article above quoted seems to me to be a
labored effort of the secretary OF the
police force to whitewash his boss for
the sake of holding his job. The sub
stance of the article, together with it's
authors, would not be worth space in a
newspaper at any other time, and
would not be noticed by me if I did not
believe that it was prompted to mislead
the public and conceal the strong evil
dence of eitherignorance or fraud in the
conduct of the police department.
The proper and modest thing for the
chief of police to have done was to await
the result Of legal investigation by the
police commission before lodging re.
sponsibility and making feeble and
miserable effort to affect public opinion
through the press.
The police department of this city gov
ernment was created by the people to
suppress crime, protect life and property
and uphold morality, and whenever a
city ordinance is violated the least that
can be expected of the individual hold
ING the most responsible position in con-
nection with its administration is that
be will act honestly and manfully, and
give every assistance to legitimate inves-
tigation. They should ut least have
sense enough to know that when charges
of corruption, sustained by circumstan-
tial evidence that would convict pri-
vate citizen, is made against the police
force, their innocence cannot be estab
lished by the chief shouting, II am