The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1914-10-27
MANY CRACK SHOTS
ON POLICE FORCE
NEW Works. CLASS OF PROBA-
TONERS QUICK TO HIT BULLS
EYE AT FIFTEEN YARDS.
MANIKIN TARGETS ORDERED
Detectives Have Saved Their Own
Lives Many Times by Being Good
Marksmen Quick on the Trigger.
The Dangers of Duty.

Marksmen Quick on the Trigger.
The Dangers of Duty.
The ffty-eight probationary po-
licemen of the school of recruits at
police headquarters have shown un-
usual skill with the revolver, says
the New York Sun. Nineteen of
them left the school for precinct du-
ty. The practitioners all get a thor
ough training in the handling of fire
arms. In revolver practice the men
shoot at regulation army targets. The
department soon install life-size pa
pier mache men for the policemen
to shoot at.
These manikins work automatical-
ly. They appear suddenly in front of
a screen, to remain in view for few
seconds, when they as suddenly dis
appear. Their use teaches the men
to be quick on the trigger. The au-
donations have been adopted by the
Philadelphia police force with sue
cess.
The New York police department
has several hundred men who are
classed as good shots as many who
qauify as sharpshooters. The cham
pion pistol shot of the department is
Acting Captain William Jones. He
has shown more policemen how to
shoot than any other man in the
United States. Captain Jones has
taught revolver practice at police
headquarters on and off for many
years. On August list last Commits
sioner Woods placed him in charge
of the third branch detective bureau
in Harlem. He has made a study
of powder marks, and from this
knowledge has often been able to
tell at what distance the fatal shot
was fired in murder cases.
In revolver practice the men shoot
at a 4-inch bullseye from distance
of fifteen yards. 1t is seldom that
Jones fails to hit the mark. He
learned to shoot when boy in the
Connecticut woods. He asserts that
the average craftsmanship of the de-
partment is good. Some policemen,
he said, failed to become good marks
men because they anticipated the re-
coil of the weapon, unconsciously
lowering the pistol as they pulled
the trigger A bad stomach, he said,
affected a mans craftsmanship more
than anything else.
Another sharpshooter is Lieuten-
ant Detective George F. Haerle. With
Detective Joseph Guarineri Haerle
went on April 2 last to a fiat on the
east side of Harlem tc arrest William
Horgan, a drink-crazed laborer, who
had shot a saloonkeeper. Horgan
was hiding in a fiat behind green
curtain. When Guarnieri drew the
curtain aside Horgan fired, killing
the detective instantly. The fiat was
in darkness, but before Morgan could
fire again Haerle sent a bullet into
his forehead, killing him. Haerle
fred where he had seen the glow of
light from Horgan's gun when the
latter shot at Guarineri. Had Haerle
been less quick on the trigger he
would have met the same fate as his
fellow detective.
In the lives of many policemen
there comes a time when they are
called upon to enter a dark cellar
after a thief Crooks have a way OF
taking refuge in such places, and po-
licemen in following them into cellars
often have been shot and killed. De-
tectives Peter Carmody and Emil
Panevino were shot by a drug-crazed
negro in a fiat in East Seventy-sec-
ond street on May 26 last. Detect
ives Stanley German, son of Police
Surgeon German, and Steve Birming-
ham learned that the negro was hid
ing in a cellar. The two detectives
entered the cellar and began to creep
about its dark floor in search of the
fugitive. The negro was hiding in a
corner and suddenly opened fire on
them. His fire was returned. The
negro, realizing that the detectives
knew how to shoot, finally surren-
dered.
cit is bad enough under any cir
cumstances," one of the detectives
said, ITO 90 into a cellar after des-
perate thief who is wei armed, but
you feel much more confidence in
yourself if you know you can shoot
Detective George Thompson of the
fourth detective branch is a crack
shot. Several years ago a negro dis
guised as a woman was terrorizing
Harlem. Thompson arrested the ne
gro one night, and was taking him
to the station when the negro sud
denly drew a razor and cut Thomp-
sons throat from ear to ear, just
missing the jugular vein. The de-
teetive dropped to the pavement. AS