The Detroit times., 1910-12-02
MAC0MD SHERIFF,
SHOT BY BOY OF "A,
IS DEAD
Joachim Matthews, Wounded When
He Tried To Arrest the Youths
Father in Harrison Township,
Passes Away.
Youths Mother Thought Officer Was
Bad Man"-Both Brought To
Detroit.

MT. CLEMENS, Mich, DeUc. g.
Sheriff Joachim Matthews, who was
shot by 14-year-old Benny Goaere,
when the officer went to the Go
yaere farm, in Harrison township,
to arrest the youths father or 4
charge Of cruelty To animals, died at
2:20 this afternoon.
The stricken sheriff had been UNI
conscious ever since shortly after he
staggered into his apartments In the
county jail and gasped to his wife
that he had been shot. Efforts to
draw a few words from the dying Of
hcer failed.
There was pail of gloom over the
whole city. Here and there small
groups of men gathered and discuss
cd the affair, but the mob spirit that
developed, soon after the shooting,
had almost entirely disappeared. The
citizens as whole. accepted the ex-
PLANTATION that Mrs. Govaere thought
the sheriff was bad man" and or
dered her boy to fire. There were
many inquiries made at the county
Jail as TO the condition OF Sheriff
Matthews and the news that the
spark OF life was fading crushed the
entire community.
Sheriff Matthews drove back
from the scene Of the shooting,
three miles, despite the fact that he
had beer shot THROUGH the right shout
der, the charge entering the lung. and
was terribly weak from loss OF blood.
lie Stage; ID up TO the door Of his
home and knocked. When his wife
opened IL he fell to the floor, exclaim-
ing that he had been shot.
A meeting had been called for last
night to organize a humane society
which was to take up the case OF
August Govaere. who Is alleged 10
have cruelty treated his stock. Sheriff
Matthews started out for the Govaere
farm about $50 without waiting for
the society to get to work. He drove
up to the Govaere home and knock
I'd at the door. Mrs. Goavere called
out and asked what was wanted. The
sheriff said he wanted Govaere, and
the woman said her husband was not
at home. Matthews demanded en-
trance, but was told to leave. Short
~ afterward a shotgun was fired in
side and the charges Of both barrels
tore his right shoulder and punctur
ed his lung. The sheriff then drove
back to Mt. Clemens and a posse OF
ten men went to the scene and ar
rested Mrs. Govaere and her son.
August Govaere was not at home,
having been at another farm.
According to the story the boy told
the officers, his mother, who is a
Belgian and cannot speak English,
told him to shoot.
The boy was terribly frightened at
the appearance of the officers and ac-
knowledged that he had done the
shooting.
MY mother told me to shoot" he
said we had been expecting the
sheriff to come to arrest father. so
when someone knocked at the door
mother wouldn't open IL, but told
the man to go away. He didn't, so
mother told me to go get the gun.
did, and when the man knocked
again. she said to shoot through the
door and did
The officers brought their prisoners
hack to the city in their automobile,
but when they reached here there was
such crowd about the jail, the news
If the shooting having spread through
cut the city. that IL was thought best
tContinued on page IA