The morning call., 1894-11-15
RGHT TO RESIST.
Mrs. Lenia DodsOn's Act
INDICATED
BY THE VERDICT OF A JURY.
: The Colored Contractors Wife
: Comes Out Scatheless
ON A CHARGE OF MIsDEMEANoR
A Jury Holds Her BlameIess for Re-
: fusing to Permit a Policeman
to Search Her House.

A fair spribkling OF the coIored four
hundred assembled in Judge Becher's
court yesterday for the purpose of taking
part in the hearing of the case against Mrs
LENA Dodson, wife of Beverly Dodson,
the cOl0red contractor, who was so unfor-
tunate as to make her debut in court in
answer to the pleoe charge of resisting
an officer in the lawful executionof his
duty.
1t appears that some time ago Mr.. jeff
Thompson woke QUE evening to the dis
covery that he had lost horse and wagon.
By some mysterious process of induction
he further made himself sure of convic.
zion that his arch-euemy. Mr.. Beverly
-Dodson, was the cuiprlt who had unla~-
fully distracted the said horse and wagon.
So Mr.. jeff procured a search warrant and
proceeded In'cOmpany with POlfceman.J Obn
Connolly to the suburban residence of Mr..
Beverly Dodson at ''Twenty-e and
Mission Streets.
Nicholson had fthe misfortune not to
be al home to. re ceive his guests, but Mrs.
DodS0n was there, and so was her son
Fred, a young but decidedly energetic
young mulatto. Now it transpTred from
the evidence produced yesterday that
Oficer Connolly had TWO warrants IL his
pOcket-one a. arch-warrantf for the inYes-
tigatiOn of Mr.. Dodson's premises with the
object of locating the missing; horse and
wagon; the other a warrant for the arrest
of. Beverly Dodson. And, strange TO re
late, Mr. Officer Connolly made the mis-
take of putting the wrong warrant into
his pocket and relating TO the affrighed
Mrs. DOdson how that her husband was
wanted instead of reading the seareh-war-
rant as he ought to have done. ~:~
The result was that when the men
started. to search the house there was
trouble. Mrs. D0dson protested vigor-
opsly and interfered With the search. The
horse and wagon WAS there sure enough,
but it was represented by Mrs. DOdson
that they belonged to her husband. and,
that in taking them he had only recovered
his own property. Mrs. Dodson was aided
and abetted in her resistance bv Master
Fred DOdson. who, after applying num-
Der of singu1arlv abusive epilhets to 1.-THE
cop and his pal" retired into the backyard
with the laudable purpose of taking the
nuts out OF the wagon.
Much confusion resulted and there was
considerable of scuff1s. II the end the
men departed amid a shower of rocks and
other material blessings hurled by the
practiced hand of the vindctive Master
Fred Dodsou. The men retired, but only
to return with warrant for the arrest of
Mrs. Lenia DodsOn on a charge of INSIDE
meanor, to wit: resisting an officer. This
was the charge that occupied the attention
of jury in Judge Belcher's court yester-
day during the whole OF the morning ses-
sion.
II Foo ~, LOT n l,r,Is
during the trial yesterday. and the de-
scription of various eccenIricities of speech
and action on the part of the colored in
habtants of the house on Mission and
Twenty-eighth streets caused no small
amusement in court.
A by no means insignificant witness was
Master Fred DOdson himself, who, with
malice In his eye, told how that he had
tackled the cop." and how that the
"cop" had resented the insult by drawing
pistol and presenting the muzzle thereof
ia juxtaposition to the manly bosom of
Master Fred Dodson.
II dared him to shoot" shouted the boy,
.excitedly. 81 just dared him, and then he
put the pistol back i0 his pocket like
coward. didn't have o use for the cop,
ner he for me, dye see? So when after
while they goes away l just lets 'em have
it with all the rocks / could find.
- "Then they was rude to mother. They
called her all sorts of names, and that
made me so mad that | told the cop I'd fix
him if I could. And you can bet that's
just what I'd do
In this manner did Master Fred Dodson
betray his fiiial affection and his detesta-
ton fthe nuchivarous conduct of police
men in the Mission. 1t may be added that
Master Fred Dodson was becomingly at
tired for the ordeal by the sporting of an
amazing pair of pantalooas, cut fashionably
short, and of flaming crimson hue.
1t was further claimed ON behalf of the
defense that this was a case of persecu-
ton. 1t was argned that the police man
exceeded his duty, and that there was no
more occasion for searching the premises
of Dodson than there was for exploring
Seventeenth-stree: police station. An
eloquent appeal on this behalf was made
by the counsel for the prosecution, and
after Assistant District Attorney Peixotto
had conjured the jury to uphold the
majesty of the law, Judge Belcber de-
livered his instructions, and the fate of
Mrs. Lenia DodsoD lay with twelve men.
1t being put just about lunch time when
the Jury retired, no agreement was
reached until the usual order was made.
an the twelve jurors RECALLED at the city's
expense. Early in the afternoon, how
ever. the twelve agreed. Verdict: not
guilty; downfall of tyranny and Police
man Connolly, end triumph of aggrieved
citizenship and Mrs. Lenia Dodson.
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,r.,- xryurTC OgNRDCE CAGE