The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-10-03
NEW FORKS POLICE sCANp'
Policeman Thomas Coleman Bo'o'
 Lexow Investigating Committee

NVW iorh, oct. 1,-lnc LeAoW ~ Wr mittee was called to order at Il O :. ek and Mir Con said that he propoiG to introduce evidence which was of ,at importance. both to the committe nd citizens of New York. "The testl ny will be considered in three lights said Mir. Con. first with. regard to the po- liceman as a disturber of the peace, and danger to the safety of the citl- zens of this city. Secondly, that the police force Is above the ordinary laws of this state. and 1t will be shown that a policeman who commits felonious fine and a reprimand from a police court. A policeman can brain a citizen with club. and all the punishment he receives will be small fine, whereas an ordinary citizen. if he committed the same offence. would be sent to Sing Sing. and, thirdly, that the perjury which has been committed by policemen during the recent trials at the head quarters Is unmeasurable and unparal- lelled, and in fact, as one of the com- missioners put 1t, the air of the court room at police headquarters was blue with perjury.
 Lawyer Moss, of Parkhurst's society, testified as to the efforts made by the business mems association, of which he was counsel, to suppress the social evil in the "tenderloin" district.
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 mand of the district at the time, was brought to trial before the police board, and tie vote-two for. dismissal and two for acquittal-was the result. At the same sitting Williams was promoted to the rank of inspector.
 MT. Moss also brought charges against Captains Mclaughlin and Carpenter for not expressing gambling in their precincts. The result of the trial of Me Laughlin on these charges was the same as that against Williams-a tie vote. Captain Carpenter retired on a pension before the trial. The cases against Williams and Mclaughlin are still undisposed of
 Policeman Thomas Coleman, who was sent to the hospital to take charge Of George Appo after the latter's throat was cut last Sunday, testified that Appo told him that he had attempted suicide and had said he wished he were dead. Then MT. Golf changed his examina- tion and asked Coleman how many times he had been convicted before the police board. He answered sixteen times; twice for clubbing.
 MT. Golf then reviewed the charges that had been made against Coleman. Coleman was then excused and MT Moss then reviewed his story of the crusade of the society for the proven tion of crime against the social evil MT. Moss here produced a big volume of records of police trials at headauarters which he said he himself had pre- pared.
 Tt appears" said he, "that a ma jority of the officers on the force have had convictions recorded against them, and that in cases for which, if tried in criminal courts, the penalty would be heavy, the policeman was let off with small fine. There has been no serious punishment by captains previous to the appointment of this committee. There are now on the force ninety policemen who have been convicted since January, 1891, of assaulting citi- zens in brutal manner. MT. Moss report showed that from January 1, 1891, to May, 1894, there had been 109 convictions of police officers and that ninety-two of these officers are still on the force and sixteen have retired. The offences charged were op- pression, neglect of. duty, indecent ex- posture, assault, burglary, attempted rape and similar charges. In addition to the 1O9 cases there were twenty-two cases of not such serious character, For instance, an officer was fined ten days for carelessly handling his pistol and killing 8 citizen. Then there were two cases of tampering with register books on voting day. There were fifty six cases that were still pending, and sixty-five cases up to May 1. A num- Der of witnesses then told of brutal clubbing by the police, most of them without cause. \ Policeman Richard s. Meaney testi- fled in regard to the complaint of the Columbia college students that they were assaulted and badly clubbed while burning the legendre" on June 2. Meaney said he did not assault any students that night. He was asked how many complaints there were against him since April 1. ''I think there were i've" he replied. "The record shows that since November il, 1891, there have been. fifteen complaints against you, two Of which only have been dis missed" .5.-.s a
 Witness admitted that he was fined three days pay for assaulting John Strahmeidel in his own apartments. A number of policemen were called and testified as to trials and charges against them. Policeman Thomas O'Neill ad- mitted having been fined two days pay for assaulting citizen. The proceed ings were then adjourned.
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