The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-01
aopBoLp,s SIDE OF IT.
BE Hopes to Get a Full Hearing by
the City Council.

Cne OlLy COUNCIL.
Ex-Policeman Godbold has asked for a
hearing before council upon the case
which resulted in his dismissal from the
police force and his arrest by order of the
mayor. Godbold believes that if he can
get a full hearing of all the evidence in
the case before council that body will be
inclined to view it much more leniently
than did the mayor. Godbold'S position
is that he did nothing more than give a
good beating TO a man who deserved it,
for assaulting him without provocation.
He made the following statement of his
case yesterday.
"On the night of the difficulty | was
not on duty either as a police officer or on
private duty and had not been for
week, having been detailed by my supe-
rior officer to do carpenter work around
the barracks, therefore | considered my
self that night citizen and not an officer,
and expected to be tried as a private
citizen and fined as SUCH and not as
uniformed officer At the request of De
tectiye Bossell, l assisted him and Officer
KaYanaugh to arrest Herman Miller. The
prisoner and detective went to the bar
racks in the patrol wagon, and l walked
leisurely homeward with two of my
friends, H d. Walling and II. e. Thornley,,
both mechanics in the employ of the Sa-
vannah, Florida and Western railroad
shops In passing up Orange street
Thornley, remarked, stop a minute,
want to speak to a young woman who
lives in here" pointing to a house in front
of us.
He stepped up on the stoop and raped
at the door while myself and friend walked
a few steps onward and halted to wait for
him. A man asked from a window above
what he wanted, and he answered els
Alice in?' This answer seemed to arouse
all the fury in the man. He rushed down
the stairs cursing at every step. Thorn
ley came down from the stoop thinking,
perhaps, he had made mistake in the
house I stepped up on the stoop to apollo
gize if it was the wrong house, when he
opened the door and yelled: what in the
h do YOU wantR' at the same time strik-
ing me in the face with a pair of brass
knucks, stunning me for a moment. Be
fore l could realize what the man had
done, he struck me again, then l caught
hold of him and drew him outside of the
stoop and gave him as good a whipping as
l thought he deserved
Il did nothing more than any other cit
izen would have done under the circum-
stances. Not one of my companions laid
4 hand upon him but myself, every lick
ne received gave it to him and have no
apologies to offer for the deed, for 1 feel
as every other man would have felt had
they been in my place. He got only what
he deserved | never knew the man in
my life and never saw him before, there
fore l could not have had any enmity
against him, and if he had not struck me
never would have laid the weight of my
finger upon him. Could his honor Mayor
McDonough have been with me that night
and seen how l had been drawn into this
fight his scathing remarks the day of my
trial never would have been uttered. |
respectfully refer to my employers of the
Savannah, Florida and Western railroad
shops for whom 1 worked before entered
the police service and to my superior Off
GERS during my three years term as po-
lice officer. do this feeling sure of vim
dication at their hands"