Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-09-06
AFFAIRS AT SOUTH OMAHA
Police Board Hears Charges Prepared by
John Harris Against Chief Briggs
FAMILY ROW INTERVIEWER IN THE CASE
Chief Ordered to File Information In
County Court Charging saloon
Keeper with selling Liquor
on Sunday.

The important matter before the session
Of the Board OF Fire and Police commits
sioners last night was the hearing Of
charges against Chief John Briggs These
charges were preferred by John Harris on
behalf Of his wife and family. They set
forth that on August 26 the chief visited the
home OF Mr.. Harris at Twelfth and !
streets, and, without warrant, siezed the
personal effects Of the mother OF Mrs
Harris designated as Mrs. Lucina Richard
son otherwise known as Mrs. buclna
Roberts) and that he conducted the mother
, from the house and carried out the eftects
against the will of Mrs. Harris and her
commands That he pushed the plaintin
through a door with force and injured her
slightly, and in all the above acts. without
due investigation or decorum.
Mrs. Harris swore that her mother had
been we'll treated and cared for and that
she had never expressed. a desire TO leave
the home provided for her. That the only
objection raised was by the mother. who
refused to take bath. She said her mother
(Mrs Richardson) had been living with Mr.
| Roberts I'm a kind of way" but that shs
had never been married to him: and that
for the past two years she had been making
! her home in South Omaha as designated
! to live with them And that they had ap
piled for a pension for the mother under the
name of Mrs. Richardson. She claimed
that Chief Briggs had come TO the house
| and denied his name, and had used the
force charged. Also she stated that h
| picked up the baby and threw II violently
onto a bed.
In the defense Mrs NJ. schouboe OF Coun
| Gil Bluffs. who is according to her testi
| mony an adopted daughter Of Mr. and
Mrs. Roberts mot Richardson, as claimet
by the planting said that she had beer
notified on two separate occasions by diff
! ferent neighbors of the Harris family tina
the mother had been abused and PRACTICAL!
made prisoner in the household. That thu
woman had been married thirty-five year
previous to Mr.. Roberts and had Away
lived with him until they sold their farm
at Red Cloud and came to Council Bluffs t.
live with their adopted daughter, Mrs
Schouboe. Two years ago the woman de
sired to come to her own daughter and tn,
change was effected. After that time sh
knew little Of conditions except as detailed
by neighbors and from the statement b
the old mother.
Mrs. Roberts was placed on the stand
shaking with age and nervous from he
80 years, and testified that she had desire,
to leave the home OF Mr.. Harris for tn
past three months. but had been forbidden
to leave the house or to speak to anyone
She charged her daughter with havinI
forcibly taken money from her on tw
occasions. leaving her pennlless. She sal,
that the family had persuaded Mr.. Robert
to deed small house and lot to Mrs. Har
ris and had created discord between he
and her husband. Mr.. Roberts, to whom
she swore she was lawfully welded Sh
said the daughter had applied for a pen
sion for her, but she knew the pension
could not be secured, for she had marrie
again after the death OF her first husband
| Mr. Richardson. This latter marriage
| the one which her own daughter, Mrs Har
ris, designated as living with a man b.
the name of Mr.. Roberts in a kind of
way"
At this point in the defense the boar,
entered the statement that 1t would con
Germ itself no further with the persona
history of the parties in evidence, bu
would decide the case merely on the poin
as to whether 1t was the duty of the chic
of police to give the aged woman his pro
lection in leaving a house where she wa
detained against her will and wish and dis