The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-13
COP KILLS MAN
!. IN ROOF BATTLE
Sixth Avenue Crowd Watches
Thrilling Struggle Far Above
seth Street.
SAILOR AIDS POLICEMAN
Leaps from Nearby Building
to Rescue as Fighters Hang
Over Cornice.
SAILOR AIDS POLICEMAN

At Sixth avenue and Fifty-sixth
street about 1880 o'clock yesterday af-
ternoon stood Pa.rolman Martin Gill.
who in the war was one Of Americas
bravest soldiers and has at homo
the Distinguished Service Cross, the
French Military Medal and the Croix
de Guerre, symbols Of what he did in
Trance as q member of the 165th In
fantry--the old Sixty-ninth.
To him ran young woman so ex-
aited she could hardly speak. "A man
has just insulted me-" she said breath
lessly to the policeman. He has run
in there" she added, pointing to the
hallway Of the apartment house at
oS9 Sixth avenue. She then gave what
she said was the mans address.
Gill sprang into the hallway. There
he heard footsteps ahead OF him. patter-
ing up the stairs Gill followed. two
steps at time As he stepped from the
top landing to the toof man leaped at
him and grabbed his throat. The at
tack was so sudden that Gill fell to the
roof with the assailant clinging to his
windpipe
Unable to loosen the clutching fingers.
Gill reached for his pistol. but his strong
armed adversary caught the weapon and
forced It toward the pol cefnan's head.
Gill. applying all his strength. lurched
to one side and he and The Other man
rolled over and over toward the edge OF
the roof at the rear of the apartment
house. At the same time Gill managed
to press the pistol outward until II no
longer was pointed at him.
Hang over Roofs Edge.
AS rain had been falling when Gill
came on crty he had on his raincoat and
rubbers. The tapping raircoat handi-
capped him in the struggle. The wrest-
lers kept rolling until they reached the
roofs very edge. Their legs. in fact.
bers. pried off in the combat. fell to the
pavement OF the court.
At the windows of the Great Northern
Hotel and other buildings near by men
and women, startled by the sound Of
the scufiie, screamed when they saw
the wrestlers apparently about to fall
over the cornice.
But James McQueeney, a seaman In
the navy. had rushed up to the roof OF
102 West Flfty-ffth street. where ne
lives. In a Jiffy he raced across the
roof and jumped from It to the roof
where Gill and his would-be murderer
were alike In peril OF death McQueeney
caught Gills shoulders and pulled both
men back. just as they were about to
slip off.
Gill's opponent still clung to the police
mans throat. half stranging him, until
GIL succeeded in lowering the pistol so
that 1t pointed at the other. Then Gill
fired. The bullet merely grazed the Skin
His fury Increased. The stranger
clasped Gilrs throat with both hands.
sinking his nails into the flesh. Gill
fred again and the man rolled over
dead The second bullet had penetrated
the stomach and seemingly severed the
spinal cord.
woman Disappears.
GIN was so exhausted that he had to
be attended by a surgeon from Bellevue
Hospital The body of the man he killed
was identified by papers In his pockets
and by Mrs. Priscilla Collier, a negress
from whom he hired a room few weeks
ago, as Pascal. or Rafael Cotin. 81 years
old. Mrs. Mary Burges. who has a fur
nished room house at 326 West Fifty
second street. said that she hired Cotin
as q utsnWaSner TWO HonthS ago ana
that he came to her well recommended
by persons living In Santo Domingo. and
had proved quiet and Industrious He
spoke no English.
The woman who spoke 10 GIN before
the fight disappeared. The police are
anxious to find her. as they are puzzled
by her knowledge of Cotin's address,
which Gill is certain she gave him cor
rectly
Gin has been IN the Police Department
since May 5. In France he was wounded
four times. Award OF the Croix de
Guerre resulted from n singlehanded raid
on an enemy trench at Luneville on
March 90, 1918. He got the H. g. G. and
the Medal Mllitairc for capturing SOW
eral Germans under unusual circum-
stances in a raid at Landres St George
on october 3 Of the same year.