The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-01-13
Chief of Policies Statement

Chief of Policies Statement
81 was called to the Harrelson home
shortly after nine o'clock. | was ac-
companied from the city hall by Po-
liceman Williams and Fire Chief Guy
Arendal We reached the home of
Mr.. Harrelson within few moments.
He informed me that man had been
prowling near the rear of his prem
ises. officer Williams and Mr.. Aren-
dal went in a circle through the dark,
in one direction, and Mr.. Harrelson
and | went i'll another. Mr.. Harrel-
sons son, Carl, also joined in the
search. While we were in the rear
of the premises Mr. Harrelson spoke
up: There he is out there on the
railroad track. l pressed down the
wire fence, and climbed over, and
went down the emDankment, onto the
railroad track, and toward the man,
who had now stopped. When / was
within a few feet him | said: Halt.
This is Chief of Police Allen. You
are under arrest The man turned
quickly around and placed his hand in
his rear pocket | said, Don't shoot
But before the words had hardly left
my lips he fired directly at my head.
The bullet missed me, but the flash
from the gun blinded me for the mo-
ment. l drew my gun and fired be-
fore he could fire again. | fired four
times. The first shot struck him. The
others | think missed | had to shoot
to save my own life. Mr.. Harrelson,
myself, and the other officers gathered
around the man and it was then that
we recognized him as being d. D.
Elliott"
Mr.. Harrelson Makes Statement
o. A. Harrelson also made the fol-
lowing statement, which he repeated
at the coroner's inquest this morning:
For about two weeks, on various
nights, some man has been prowling
around the. back of my house. He
acted so queerly that we were dis
turbed each night that he came. He
has made about five different trips on
different nights. He would walk up
and down the embankment just back
of my house, and would stand and
look into the kitchen windows. |
never saw him inside my yard at
night. Last Saturday night got
home late. l was expecting this man
back, so | took a seat on the back
porch in the dark. | had not been
there long before he crept along the
fence, and mounted the steps leading
over the fence into my yard. Just
then my wife and niece, who did not
know l was out there, opened the
back door, letting out a ray of light.
/ said: Get back quick. That man is
out here TheX closed the door at
once. The nrsn then left the steps
and hurried along the fence and hid
behind some bushes near an outhouse
waited in the dark and in few min
utes he came back along the fence
and stopped in front of the kitchen
window and stood there for some
time, looking in. Then he walked
down the railroad and came back
then he stopped and looked in again
l would have called the officers theT
but was the only man on the place
and the women were afraid for me tC
leave them while l went to the near
est phone, which was some distance
away. l have never said anything
about it to the officers, in my com
plants to them about the prowler
but made up my mind last Saturda!
night that knew who the man was
and that it was Mr.. Elliott. We boil
work at the railroad shops but in dif
ferent departments. l never said any
thing to him about it. / had reasol
to expect the man back at my hOus