Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-02-06
ALL HAVE GOOD RECORDS
 POLICEMEN WE RE FEARLESS
In the Discharge of Their Duty-lncidents in the Ca-
 reer of the Several Officials Who Have Been Discharged or Put the Reserve List.

dpOuL tue TuIl-ln ana parted aLter the priest had congratulated the officer upon his vigilance and courage
 John Sullivan, who has been placed on the retired list. is one of the best appearing and most active men on the force to-day. and everybody about town wants to know the cause of his l backward step. MT Sulliyan's record l didn't show up quite so well on the | little red fringed slate in the police station as that of some of the other officers, but 1t compared favorably | wl.-- the best of them on the street. John Sullivan was not so ready to ! make an arrest. If man was trife under the weather and was heading toward his home and making no trou- ble, re let him keep right on. While he protected the public peace in this l way probably better than 1t could have been done by dragging people through the streets for trivial matters, still he didn't make the showing at the station that he would have done had he seized every possible opportunity to run al- legged offenders in. 'sBenzine" corner IS 1 one of the most trying spots in Water l bury for an officer. Large numbers of young men congregate there and many of them get into trouble for not moving away fast enough when or- dered to do so by an officer. Jon1 1 Sullivan had a knack of his own for | getting them out of the way so that while he made but few arrests 1t is 1 notorious fact that no officer ever was ! more successful on that beat than he, that is assuming that preserving the public peace counts. Tn other fields MT Sullivan proved equal to any ! emergency that came up. When he encountered burglar, sneak thief or other serious offender, he assumed new role and knew no such thing as fear.
 He was one of the four policemen who, on the morning of February 15, 1889, captured four desperate burglars who had come to Waterbury on freight train, after robbing the New town bank. The other policemen who figured in the capture were Captain Ramon, Sergeant Pagan and the late Patrolman James Healey. The bur- glars drew their pistols and fired, but they were finally captured, taken to the station and later sentenced to six years imprisonment. The officers re- ceived a reward of $500 for the cap ture The affair was the talk of the state at the time. Considering the
  think at this juncture John sulli- van would be working towards place in the front rank instead of going the other way.
 Michael Sullivan, another fearless officer ordered to the reserve force, has a splendid public career, in one sense probably superior to that of any man who ever served on the force, for it appears to be generally admitted that Mike" Sullivan mad more sand than most men possess. Before his health became impaired he was ter TOT to the rough element and when he got into scrap he showed no more fear of a dagger than If it were a straw. Years ago he pursued two or three Italians and, being cornered. k they took refuge in q freight car and commenced fusilade Of bullets at the officer This didn't scare the officer. He rushed in and amid the popping of revoiyers and brandishing of knives collared his man. Everybody said he was q fool to do 1t, and per- haps he was. While pursuing law brea ker on East Main street some time since he suffered a serious injury from which he never fully recovered. He has not been on duty for several weeks. The public seems to think that, all things considered, the depart ment of public safety has not used him unfairly, for so long as he is not able to perform duty it could not be expected that he should be on the reg 1llar force, so you see that with all his good points people stand ready to ap- prove what carried with it tine ear marks of right and impartfality
 Miles McNiff is a man in the prime of life, unusually bright, and appar- entity in the enjoyment Of good health. He has figured in some of the most thrilling episodes in the history of the department since he was ap~ pointed on the force nearly twenty years ago. has never been disciplined for neglect of duty, and commands n large share of public confidence. The average citizen would Say that he has now reached an age where he oughtto be more useful than ever in the dis charge of his duty as police officer It is hard to convince some people that training of twenty years i'm. pairs rather than adds to the afflcienr cy of policeman,
 Thomas O'Hearn is a man of ripe Judgment and after long years of ac- cd against him. A man who serves on the police force eighteen years, main- tained order and protected private and public interests on the beats as- signed to him without getting him self or the city into trouble must neo- essarily be person of more than erdi- nary discretion.
 The same thing is true of John Byrnes, one of the most rugged off, cers in the department, What man Is there in Waterbury tosday would care to have run in with "Jaok" Byrnes7 The man has the strength of an OK, knows how to use 1t and has always been noted as possessing an abundance of bravery and B willing ness to use it whenever and where ever the occasion demanded 1t,
 The retirement of Chester J. Allen has not brought forth much unfavor~ able comment although some of the officers say that Chester was not half as bad as some folks would have us