Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-20
WYATT EXONERATED
Charges Against Him Dismiss
ed by The Police Board,
OFFICER BAKER FINED s25.
Also Rcrrimanded for Circulating
False md Iniuriou, Reports.
OFFICER BAKER FINED s25.
THE EVIDENCE QUITE sriCY.

cicnt Episode in the Career Of
! ClcrI> Edgar White, which OFFICER
Wyatt Understood 10 Be I'm Oc-
"urrence of Recent Date Mr.
! Whites Frank state c,ncnt Tint, tr
His Younger Days. He Was some
/ what Wild. Made n Good impress
sior,-N,att Apologies to White,
/ who Accepts Promptly.
4 fun attendance of the Board of
Police Commissioners marked the
meeting last night which vas con
verted into high court to sit on charges
! against Acting Sergeant ". II. Wyatt
/ and Policeman w II. Baker, Of conduct
f, unbecomiug IN officer. the final out
come Of which was the e>oneration of
Sergeant Wyatt and the dismissal OF
| the charges against him and reprimand
4 Of Policeman Baker and the entry OF a
/ fine of SIS against him on the charge OF
/ naliciously circulating false and iniu-
! rious reports about brother officers.
Although Policeman Baker appeared
as a prominent figure in both trials-as u
material witness in the first case and as
! the defendant in the last-there was no
| apparent connection between the two in
/ cide1Tts as seems generally to have been
sulmised
The WYATT Case.
The sist of the evidence brought out in
/ the first case tended clearly to show
that Sergeant Wyatt had been provoked
1 by statements made 10 him by Police
/ man Baker to the effect that Mr.. Edgar
/ White, clerk of the Police Court and
I Police Board had caused him NNyatD
10 inquire into the truth of a statement,
| made to him at the same time by folice-
/ man Baker that MI White was no bet
4 ter than he should he. because he CNr.
1 Whitel had been involved TO his Police
| man Baker'sp knowledge in difficulty
that had occurred in or near a house of
ill-fame in Locust alley with a view
10 arming himself with the facts as an
/ offset 10 the war he believed Mr.. White
was making on him
Sergeant Wyatt claimed that Police
man Baker failed TO inform him that the
alleged Locust alley difficulty was an
/ eiglltecn-year-old affair and that while
Iaboring under the impression that it
was a recent occurrence he had asked
about It. which he would have disdained
To do Lad ne known that it was Of 50
ancient a character.
The fact of WNatts inquiries abont
him III the premises were repeated to
Nj White and he had taken the first
occasion that offered to accost Afr. Wyatt
about ii. and when the latter frankly
admitted that he made the statement
4
/ fighting him. the latter called Wyatt a
! cur, a black1nailer, and q blackguard,
and a mutual fight had occurred. which
] Mr.. White said was as quick as lightning
50 that he would not undertake to swear
/ that Wyatt had struck him first or
/ whether he had struck Wyatt first.
1 This was the collision which was pre-
4 cipitated in the Police Court on Tues
/ day and which had been adjudicated III
I the court Wednesday morning, when Il
! plead guilty TO the charge of fighting
/ and We were both fined" said Mr.. White.
On Friendly TcrmS
Botn the principals in this affair seem
| cd TO regard the whole difficulty as being
! brought about by a misunderstanding, and
! to entertain no unfriendly feeling OH &C
! count OF II. Mr.. White declaring that lie
! was not bringing this charge, that he had
rather entertained a high opinion of
(
! tain well known public matters and Mr..
! Wyatt frankly offering an apology to Mr..
! White before the board at the conclusion
/ OF the hearing for revivins SO ancient a
/ charge against him, under the impression
! that it was of recent date.
| Details of the Herring.
| Nj Wyatt was arraigned at the in
! stance Of Chief -of-Poice Howard. who
deemed il his duty to bring the matter to
| the attention OF the board,
! Clerk Pollard read the specification
against Mr. Wyatt, as follows:
Charge: Conduct unbeeomtng an Off
! Ger.
/ That or the 18th day Of December. 1902
Acting Sergeant William II. Wyatt did
! engage in a fight with Mr.. Z. 3 White
in the court room of the Police Court
: The witnesses in the case were L. S.
| Robins, z. ] Gagan r. NJ. Thomas. L.
c. Haake and 2. II. Dunnington. who
were summoned to testify against Mr..
Wyatt, and Mr. Baker, who was sum
mcned at Mr.. NTyatts request.
The witnesses against Mr.. Wyatt gen
| orally agreed iii their statements as to
the circumstances CT the fight in the Po-
lice Court. the aiority of them tesufy-
ing thar they did not see the beginning of
the fight, but We're attracted by the sCuf-
tie after it begun, and saw the two men
mutually engaged in it.
Some cf them claimed that Mr.. Wyatt
struck first, but both Nr. Wyatt and Mr..
White who had best reason TO know.
We're disposed 10 think their mutual blows
were well nigh simultaneous.
Policeman RaI1er's Story.
Policeman Baker. who was the star
witness said that he knew nothing of the
nght in The court room. Mr. W,ite had
on two or three occasions abused Mr..
Wyatt TO him. saving that Wyatt was a
liar and could not be believed.
Tie last occasion was on a street car
last Friday. He met White who had been
drinking. on the street car, and White
had introduced the name of Mr.. Bailey,
and said that he was q better man than
either witness or Wyatt. lie saw that
something was coming, and in order to
avoid 4 difficulty he got off the street
car.
lie met Wyatt that night in their rounds
and asked him what the matter was be-
tween White and himself.
Witness had added to Wyatt that Edgar
White was wild himself when he was
Younger. ard that he had been Informed
that White had been mixed up in some
difficulty at Molly Whites house. in Lo-
Gust alley, seventeen or eighteen years