Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-06-25
MAYOR A|NSL|E IS
SHARPLY CENSURED
BY THE GRAND Jury
Lacks Essential Qualities to
Be Director of Police
Department.
REMOVAL OF SHERRY AS
CHIEF is RECOMMENDED
Head of Department Under Influ-
ence of Gamblers, Says
Report.
MANY POLICEMEN INDICTED
Dismissal Of Captain Pollock for
Incorporate Habits Is
Favored.
REMOVAL OF SHERRY AS
CHIEF is RECOMMENDED
MANY POLICEMEN INDICTED
Incorporate Habits Is
Favored.


Sternly rebuking Mayor George Aims
lie. the official head OF the Richmona
Police Department. In that ne has no:
shown discreet Judgment In the man
agement OF the Police Department nor
In the appointmen, OF the present
chief" and pointing ou; that lie lacks
those qualities which are requisite fo-
the proper management OF the Police
Department; recommending the dis
missal OF Chief Of Police c. \. Sherrs
FOR the good OF the service. since he
Is under the malign influence vf pro
moters and proprietors of illegal gam
bling houses: returning indictments
against nine members of the Police
Department and three private citizens.
and further recommending the removal
from the force OF three additional mem
bers Of the Police Department. the
special grand jury of the Hustincs
Court late yesterday afternoon com.
plcted its investigation of irreEular
ties in tho Police Department and
survey of underworld conditions in this
city after three weeks OF indefa tigahic
labor.
CHIEF SHERRY'S NAME
HEADS LIST OF OFFFNDf:Hs
tcaCi0B the llSl OF CHcHueTS arc lHc
names of Chief OF Police c. \. sherry.
Captain George Y. Pollock. purchas ing
agent for the Police Department: De
! tective Sergeant l.. c. Ber;ucci. ana
Bicycle Policeman c. a. Strain. whom
the grand jury recommended be dis
missed from the police force.
Described as being the leader OF the
dcnizens OF the underworld. In that
he had gathered around him L
desperate coterie OF offenders and
coached young men to take a
short cut to a fortune the peni-
tentiary." II. L. Price, alias Lewis
Rogers. alias II. Mcclure. has seven
indictments returned agains. him. One
of these Indictments charge him with
felony, while the remaining six are
true bills for misdcmcnhors.
Members of the Police Department
and private citizens who are in
dicted for violations OF the pro-
hibition law are Former Police
man F. g. Waller. Policeman I.
O. Cousins. Policeman Joseph II! Ridge
way. ". S. Angle special detective for
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway:
Policeman ]. w. King. Former Police
man f. I. Hankey, Policeman T. : Eos
quett. Policeman +. \. Hcltou. Former
Policemen c. II. Deskins and ". H.
Bunton.
LIcSAHAN BLAMED FOR
MUTILATION OF EVIDENCE
In reporting upon the mutilation OF
the Lenahan evidence which was In
trusted 10 the care of Walter Christian.
clerk of the Iiustings Court. the grand
jury arrived al the conclusion that this
evidence to which only Walter Chris
tian and William Breeden had lawful
access had been out of their custody for
several hours and that the handwriting
on the mutilated evidence was that or
i. j. Lenahan." Furthermore. the
grand jury recommended that since
Ben Jacobs, who all during the In
vestigation has been a faithful and in
valuable aid and since he had promised
TO reform. that Governor Davis be re-
questcd TO remove tho jail sentence
which he is now facing as a result Of
having been convicted for violation
of the prohibition law.
In returning IT'S report the members
of the grand jury did not show an,
leniency to the present Chief of Police
Chief Sherry was appointed Chief
Of Police directly upon the removal OF
former Chief Of Police j. r. b. Sowell
who was removed from Office by Mayor
Ainslie on May % for grave indiscrc
tion and infirmty of judgment fa;a
TO one occupying the high Office
Chief of Police"
One OF the outstanding rccommcn-
dations of the grand jury was that the
frequent postponements of trials In the
courts of this city should be stopped
The jurors did not hesitate to say that
these postponements initiated against
the efficiency of the Police Department
and the probability of securing convic-
tions of volators of the law. More
over, the report urged the imposition
- Jail sentences, lest the gravity Of
Sx<lr offense may be taken as trifling
IN violators OF the law.
s1oRALITY OF CITY
IS AT Low ERB
Asserting that from the testimony
before the jury the morality Of the
city Is at a low ebb. the jury directly
accused the present chief of having
been in part at least the cause OF
this state Of affairs. According to the
members. "Thc record of c. A. Sherry
as captain of that district and his as
sociations did not justify nor warrant
his promotion to the office Of chief.
large majority of the illegal houses
known to exist are located in the First
District. 1t Is the opinion OF the grand
jury that had he displayed. while cap
tain. the proper energy in the perform
ance OF his duties. present conditions
would not exist.
''It is in evidence that Sherry. while
captain OF the First District. sent, an
officer to advise the proprietors Of a
certain place that they had been re-
ported as having liquor and that the