The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-27
HANDCUFF KING IS
PUT UNDER ARREST
Several Charges Filed Against
Performer
TRIED TO FIGHT DEPUTY
Was Carried to Jail With Handouts
and They Were Unlocked BY
Deputy Just Before He
Reached the Corridor.
TRIED TO FIGHT DEPUTY

When "Sir Charles Cliff, the hand
cuff king" was served with papers in a
damage suit against him yesterday after
noon, excitement broke loose in a little
theatre on Second avenue, followed
/ by the arrest of the ''nobleman' on a
! charge of assault and battery, seconded
| by another charge of abusive language.
He was confined In the county Jail for
! about an hour not securing his liberty
until he had made bond. Another fea-
ture of his arrest was the fact that he
was led handcuffed through the streets
from the theatre to the Jail, his hands
not slipping through the cuffs until the
deputy had unlocked them
| In simple life the king is known as
| Charles C. Downey, an old resident Oh
! Birmingham. He allows himseh TO DC
| chained. handcuffed and padlocked either
to an iron frame or to be slowed away
IN a steel box. the lid of which is pad
locked to the body.
He invites any one to bring up hano-
cuffs. chains and padlocks to secure him.
offering large sums of money to any one
who can fix him so that he cannot es-
cape. 1t appears that a young man,
Newton E. Blakemore, presented pair
of cuffs with a lock of his own making
one day last week. which the king
is said to have refused to use.
Some words are said to have arisen be-
tween the men, and Blakemore filed suit
in the city court yesterday for $4,000
damages against Downey. alleging that
he had stated that Blakemore had at
tempted to swindle him out of 500. The
suit was filed by Blakemore through his
next friend, E. ]. Kirby.
The suit was received in the sheriffs
office yesterday afternoon and a copy
of the summons and complaint given to
Deputy Kennamar to serve upon "Sir
Charles Gift" Blakemore going along to
point the king out. At the theatre the
Invitation was given to the audience
for any of them to step upon the stage
and chain the king"
Deputy Kennarnar stepped upon the
stage with other inquisitive members OF
the audience and handed the king the
copy of the summons and complaint. Sir
Charles Cliff" then proceeded to express
his opinion of the deputy, which was fol-
lowed by the shooting out of one of his
fists and one of his feet in the deputy's
direction. Strong language is then said
to have been used and the deputy pulled
his gun. This caused the "handcuff king
to suddenly change into an acrobat, and
he dived through curtain then dashed
out of the theatre His sudden appear
ance added a distinct novelty to the per-
Torrance, but startled the audience.
He rushed out of the theatre to Second
avenue, then sprinted to Twentieth street,
where he hailed policeman and demand
ed that he Arrest Deputy Kennamar. This
the officer declined to do, and the hand
cuff artist returned to the theatre.
Deputy Kennamar returned to the
sheriff's office and warrants were sworn
out for Downey's arrest on the assault
and battery and abusive language
charges. Chief Deputy Lucien Brown
went to the theatre and placed the king
under arrest, and handcuffed his pris-
oner for the trip to the county jail. The
king objected very strenuously to be-
ing handcuffed, and said he would have
them off before he got to the Jail.
His appearance on the streets was in
stantly spotted by a number of street
urchins, and the king, was followed to
the Jail by large crowd of the sharp
witted youngsters showering advice to
him as to the best way to secure his lib
erty and offering to wager as to the ex-
act time it would take him to work out
of the cuffs.
At the Jail the cuffs were unlocked, and
after an hour spent in the corridor be-
hind the heavy iron entrance door the
'nobleman" made bond and was released.
the turnkey unlocking the iron door to
let him out.