Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-04-24

In the brief flied with the Com
missioners today, Roger j. Whiteford,
attorney for Lieut.. Nina Van Wrinkle,
| hints at court action if the city heads
do not modify the verdict of the trial
board which found Mrs. Van Wrinkle
not guilty of disobeying orders. but
at the same time criticised her con-
ception of police discipline.
Attorney Whiteford asks the Com
missloners to strike from the report
of the trial board that part which
states that the lieutenant in charge
of the woman's bureau has mot 2
proper conception of the cardinal
principle Of discipline which must
prevail In a police department.
Throughout the long brief, Attorney
Whiteford employed many figures OF
! speech in attacking the trial board s
action in acquitting the lieutenant in
the next. He summed up as follows:
I'VE have not reviewed the testi-
mony in full. believing that each
Commissioner would prefer to read II
he discharge his duty under the law.
| Under the facts. the conclusion OF the
trial board is unwarranted. II the
Commissioners will refer the matter
to it's legal department. we think they
will be advised that the conclusion
liz
do not believe the Commissioners
would prefer to have court rectify
this record, which. in the interest of
justice and fair dealing. can be as
readily done by the Commissioners
themselves.
Reelection Upon POLICE.
'It was my hope to have presented
this matter by means of an oral argu-
ment, as the subject-matter lends it
self better to an oral discussion than
to a written one. But. perhaps. the
record itself argues the matter with
better effect than counsel Tor Lieut..
Van Wrinkle Is able to do. and this
belief that the Commissioners Will
see that no good purpose can De
accomplished by permitting this OBJ
Fashionable record to stand. and that
they will not knowingly lend tnem-
selves as tool for those VINO Wouio;
inference, from this boards finding.
bring the police department into dis
repute in this community:
Here is. one of Mr.. Whiteford's
sharp references to tho trial board:
,.rd9 When YOU have long since been
forgotten and your voluntary con-
tributton to the sum total OF police
wisdom shall not even be honored py
a memory, the work done by Lieut..
Van Wrinkle will still be rendering
its contribution to the moral and So
,;a1 welfare of this community.
In another part of the brief, the at
I'm stating it's conception Of disci-
pline in the police department ana
finding Lieut.. Van Wrinkle ignorant
thereof and making no comment on
the majors ignorance in this regard.
the trial board would seem to have
strained at a gnat and swallowed
very NANCY dromedary.
Disputed Jurisdiction.
Mrs. Van Wrinkle had been charged
with questioning the right, of As
sistant Superintendent Evans to IS
sue an order for the release from the
house Of detention tenn,Yn OF two ru1 Wboss
fathers had called for them.
According to the testimony, she
was at home at the time and did not
want the girls released until she
could acquaint herself with the facts.
She told Inspector Evans MAJ. SUI
Ivan issued an order on February 20
giving her complete jurisdiction over
missing women and children.
Police officials testified that the or
der Of February % was not intended
to give the woman's bureau sole au-
thority in the handling OF s sucn cases Mss
Van Wrinkles defense on the ground
that she had endeavored to interpret
honestly the majors order and that
no officer could be convicted of dis
obedience for an honest interpreta-
ton Of an order.
Continuing his appeal, Mr.. White
Lieut.. Van Wrinkle was not asked
nv any person, nor did she give testi-
rnony as to what her conception of
her duty in this regard was, except
to say that she recognized her duty
to, give implicit obedience to the or
ders of the major and superintend-
emit. This would seem to be in &C
cord with the MAJORS own testimony;
why, therefore. the trial board
should not only have disregarded the
only testimony on this point. but, In
addition thereto, have created by Its
own intellectual nat an alleged rule
of discipline that neither according
to the evidence, nor. In fact, exists
in the police department.. quite bames
our diminutive mental powers.
Caustic Fling at Board.
The only explanation would seem
to lie. either In a desire to cast asper-