Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-10-25

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Statistican Alton B. Parker, who can
make loss Of 100000 soldiers out of
an army of only 10000 altogether who
have entered the field.
THE SMlTH-sARVER oASE.
The supreme court, as announced in
yesterdays dispatches, has decided
that Thomas Smith. the former Abba
marshal who killed kid" Sarver when
the latter attempted to prevent the ar
rest of his father. S. d. Sarver, on a
charge of drunkenness, had not the
right to shoot the young man and must
serve a penitentiary term for man
slaughter. The court holds that the
use of weapon to prevent the es-
cape Of a prisoner who is charged
with a misdemeanor is not justified,
though an officer is allowed to shoot
to prevent the escape of prisoner
charged with felony.
The decision in the Smith case
raises practically new point in the
Iowa law and hereafter the distinction
must be kept in mind The law holds
human life too dear to be sacrificed
because of a simple misdemeanor and
the court declares that 1t Is not the
intention of the statutes to clothe an
officer with despotic power so that he
controls the life or death of a man
who is guilty of nothing more than a
trivial offense. The courts finding is
made clear in the decision, which
points out the fact that, even in the
case of misdemeanor, the officer has
the right to shoot to defend himself
from murderous attack. The decis.
ion says:
ut is we'll approved maxim that
the law has a tender regard for hui
man life. and as general rule per-
son assaulted without provocation can
not carry his right of self-defense to
the extent of using a deadly weapon
upon his assailants save where the cir
cumstances are such that to his ap-
prehension as reasonable man, such
extreme measures are necessary to
save himself from death or very great
bodily harm.
in our judgment something of the
same solicitous care for human life
should be required Of the officer max
ing an arrest. and that it Is better that
misdemeanant escape than that the
power of arrest be asserted to the ex-
tent of killing one whose offense sub
jects him to only trifling fine or con-
flnement for few days in Jail.
This does not require the officer to
retreat before a display Of violence nor
deprive him of the common right of
self defense but simply denies him the
right to use deadly weapon or take
human life in enforcing an arrest for
a misdemeanor even though without
such force the wrong doer may escape.
The arguments based on the para
mount necessity of upholding the law
and promptly suppressing all tenden.
cies to violence and disorder are not
without weight and FEASIBILITY but the
disadvantages likely to arise from de-
nying to peace officers the right to
take life in making an arrest for mis-
fdemeanor are not more apparent than
is the danger to be apprehended from
clothing every officer with a power of
such extreme and despotic character.
Nor does this permit the man who
is strong enough to successfully resist
arrest or to effect an escape therefrom
to go scot free, and thus set prem
ium on lawlessness. Such resistance
can, at best, have but temporary sue
cess. The entire power of the city and
county is at the officers command, If
such assistance be necessary. And a
case can be hardly imagined where the
wronGdoer may not readily be brought
into custody without bloodshed, and
be made to answer not only for the
original misdemeanor, but for his un-
lawful resistance Of arrest as we'll"
The effect Of this decision may or
may not be beneficial. It may have
the effect Of making some officers too
timid about the use of their firearms
and thus cause them to suffer serious
injuries themselves Again, it will no
doubt prevent such sad cases as the
Smith-Sarver tragedy, which resulted
in the death of young Sarver as the
indirect result Of an arrest for mis-
demeanor no more serious than intox-
ication.