Los Angeles herald., 1910-04-17
NEGRO BEATEN IN
JAIL DIES; GRAND
JURY WILL PROBE
Autopsy DiSCIoSes Broken Rib Be-
Iieved to Be the Indirect
Cause of Death
BACKTRACK ALLEGED CRIME
Claimed Witnesses Will Testify to
Man Being SIugged by
Patrolman
CHARLES WILLIAMS, negro al

CHARLES WILLIAMS, n negro al
legged to have been terribly beaten
~ by police officers while he was a
prisoner in the city Jail on charge of
shooting patrolman, died yesterday.
A postmortem examination revealed
that williams suffered from tuberculo-
sis, believed to have been caused by
the beating he received in the city jail.
According to the negro's friends, one OF
his ribs was broken during the alleged
assault, and this caused the fatal at
tack of tuberculosis. The autopsy
showed one or more Of Williams rios
had been broken, and other injuries on
the body were found.
williams was arrested December 10
after pistol duel with Patrolman Ed
win e. Sanders Sanders was wounded
and Williams was shot in the heel.
DR.. r. V. Day performed the autopsy
on the dead man yesterday, and Cor
oner Hartwell. Deputy District Attor-
ney Keetch and Attorney Earl Rogers,
who has been retained as counsel by
friends of the dead man, were present.
When asked for a report of the eX-
animation DR.. Day refused to diVulge
any information, stating he woRid
make his report at the coroner's in
quest which will be held Monday.
Coroner Hartwell when asked as to
the cause of the negro's death stated
he had nothing TO say, but he would
not deny that ii was evident that the
tuberculosis has been superinduced by
mistreatment and ''manhandling" in
the city Jail.
RIB BROKEN RECENTLY
SO far as Is known. it was impossible
for those who made the examination
TO ascertain the time of the fracture OF
the rib, although it was stated 1t ap-
peared to be a break made within a
few months. 1t is said the mans nose
was broken before he was arrested and
placed I'm Jail. The presence of tuber-
culosis throughout Williams family
and relatives seems prevalent. as ms
brother died of the disease some time
ago.
According to police officers the negro.
when arrested in December, arrived at
the police station uninjured except for
the bullet wound in his heel. He was
booked Mt the sergeant's desk and
taken into the tanks.
When taken before Police Judge
Frederickson the next morning for his
arraignment on the charge of assault
with intent to kill, the negro's nose
was beaten almost to pulp, several
wounds We're on his scalp and a rib
was broken.
Efforts were made by his attorneys
to find out by whom and how he had
been beaten, but the efforts resulted in
nothing. The arresting officers and
taller testified he was unhurt when
IS booked at the desk and when taken
into the tanks. Those who discovered
his injuries before taking him into
court seemed to show a total lack of
curiosity as to how he was hurt AL
though he. was treated in the receiving
hospital no account was made of the
injuries or treatment on the official
records of the hospital.
CLAIMS ASSAULT WITNESSED
When williams was taken before the
superior court to be arraigned, having
been held over to answer there, his
condition was such that his attorneys
determined to take some action toward
fixing the responsibility for the alleged
assault. When ii was learned that his
condition was serious he was permitted
to be removed to his home.
Attorney Earl Rogers, who was en-
gagged as counsel for Williams by the
latter's friends to defend him on the
assault charge, declared yesterday that
he had witnesses who could testify that
a patrolman brutally beat Williams
after he was thrown into the tanks
while another officer guarded the door
leading to the tanks.
The matter was taken to Chief of
Police galloway several weeks ago anu
he made a report of it to the police
commission.
The grand jury yesterday demanded
the reports of officers on the Williams
case and they We're delivered to the in
uuisitors by Charles McKeag, secretary
of the police commission, with whom
the reports had been filed. The COM
mission has instructed Chief Galloway
to do all he can TO assist the grand
Jury i'm it's investigation of the case
Several police officers are involved in
the matter, the commission believes
and as soon as the grand jury has
finished the police commission will take
the case up and deal with the officers.