Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-09
PAUL MENDELS LSSOHNS TRAGIC DEATH
Officer Shot in Cold Blood while Dcharging His Duy-Was North Main Street Car to Protect From Lawlesness
 Was Popular Officer and We'll Liked by Everyone

up and asked him his business. He
 said Don't shoot,'' that he had heard
 the shots and came along to see what
 was going on. then took the car to
 the switch, where the motorman on l the other car relieved me and both
 cars went to the center, and I went to
 the station and had my head dressed"
 The motorman's story last night was
 as follows: T was just putting on the
 controller handle when heard the con- ductor scream. I rushed back through
 the car and the officer came with me.
 Before we could get through the car
 the shooting commenced and saw the l officer stagger back again for the front
 of the car and was shot at several times through the car windows, but
 was not hit. I was just going to start l the car when the pole was pulled off,
 as learned later by the conductor. l saw three forms at the left of the car
 and one of them grabbed for me, but l
 shook him off and jumped from the right hand side of the car and, rolling
 down an embankment, went into the
 swamps. l ran into several barb wire
 fences, the gang in the meantime firing
 at me. I made wide detour, coming
 out on the highway, and meeting an officer, went back with him to the scene of the accident, but found noth- 1 ing I then waited for the next car
 and rode to the center. I was shot at fifteen or twenty times, and heard one
 of the assistants cry out, Bring him
 down, Bill I am sorry did not have a gun. I have no intention of quit l ting"
 When the car arrived in the center
 news of the murder had been sent in
 from McLinden's drug store, as quite
 a number of people had congregated
 awaiting it's arrival. The body of On- cer Mendelssohn was carried into the police station and Dr Moriarty made superficial examination and found that the bullet had entered the left breast and just grazed, as he believed, the top of the heart. Medical Examiner Graves arrived and the body was taken to
 Moriarty's morgue to await the ar rival of the coroner.
 1 By permission of Deputy Coroner Pond a Democrat reporter talked with
 
 Weberndorfer at the police station this
 morning. Both are young men and be- long in New York. The motorman I came here about two months ago and the conductor has been here four weeks. Their story is to the effect that the offi- I cer boarded the car at the switch and
 rode on the front end to the terminus of the line. He wore a rubber coat
 over his uniform. The story told this .l morning corroborated in the main the one given above.
 On the return trip the conductor said
 he noticed a bus standing at the cor ner of Winchester avenue and North Main street. He didn't remember see
 ing the vehicle on the way up. Charles
 Thuesen. another strike-breaker, who was on the car that met Motorman
 Chambers and Conductor Webern- dorfer on the way up was present
 while the reporter was talking to the men, and stated that he passed the bus !. at the switch. He said it was filled , with men, but all agreed that the par
 ties in it could not have reached the
 end of the line on time to take part in the assault Neither showed any visi- ble signs of having figured in a life and death struggle. They said that , their assailants were masked but just , how many were there they could not , tell.
 Old residents who live in the vicinity of Forest park and young men who f played around that territory in their l boyhood days say that it is impossible : for any living being to go into the < swamp opposite Forest park and come , out alive. They allege that you could s not walk ten feet without sinking to I your hips and it is almost like quick !, sand This is the place there was
 some talk of filling in and turning into I baseball grounds, but it was report l ed that the promoters of the scheme in 1 the dryest weather sunk fence rail 2 almost out of sight in the mire. : It was reported to-day that q pool t of blood was found outside where the h car stood at the terminus of the road l The mystery attached to it is whose h blood was it. If it was the dead off
 cer's he must have been outside the f car when he was shot. If it was the I motorman or the conductor, they dc e not show any exterior marks to cause I the blood. If it was one of the assail r ants, who fired the shot that caused il o or did one of them shoot his comrade' n An impression went abroad this fore !. noon that the crew of the car were ar $ rested There was no truth in this | e undoubtedly gained credence from De l. tective Dodds being seen with the twt q men going toward the police station 6 where they were wanted to give thei 7. testimony on the affair.