The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-01-05
WOUNDED OFFICER
MUCH IMPROVED
Physicians Think They
Can Save Rice's Left
Arm
HIT IN THREE PLACES
Police Emphatically Deny
That the First Shot Was
Fired by Them

ilty ltlctllNo X. -. SOD ,
Rice. who was shot and wounded
whom police officers attempted 10
gain entrance to the homo OF Bin
Cranncld at 22t South Wheeling
avenue. on liquor search warrant
at midnight Tuesday. was resting
ipuch easier at tho oklahoma hos
pital at late hour last night
Attending physicians who at first
expressed tho belief that the wound
ed officers left arm might have 20
be amputatcd as the result OF tho
buckshot wounds. said Wednesday
night that unless unforcscon COM
plications set IN the arm could be
saved. Rico was wounded I'm three
places by the scattering shot. IN
the side, In the neck and In the lcft
shoulder. None OF the wounds were
thought serious except the shoul-
der wound One Of the buckshot
Just grazed the iuglar vein in the OF
ficor's mock, inflicting only u flesh
wound. Several shots took effect
in the shoulder. scyering tho blood
vessels and cutting off the circu-
latlon.
Bnl and Claude C'Yellowhnm-
mer") Cranfield, brothers. are be-
ing held in the county IAN charged
With the shooting. At a late hour
Wednesday night no formal charges
had been preferred against them,
but chief OF Police George II. Blaine
said that the charges would be filed
some time Thursday morning,
Denies Shooting Ilrst.
Charges by Mrs. w. Il. Cranfield
wife of ono OF the men being held
Ia ha ah ha
fired first. were flatly denied We'd
ncsday by members of the raiding
squad and Night Captain Claude
Brice. She also charged. II IL al
legged. that she turned on the front
porch light when the officers first
arrived and recognized two OF the
policemen as members OF the band
OF viRilantcs who, about a month
ago, took hcr husband ont In the
country and horscwhipped him
when he confessed to charges OF hi
jacklng a passenger In his taxi Roth
OF the Cranfields were former taxi
drivers.
The latter charges were also de-
MED by the police, who said that
the porch light was not turned on
until long after officer Rice had
been shot and wounded.
Tho complete story of tho raid
and the subsequent shooting was
told by Detective Ned Gritts. who
obtained the search warrant.
"Officer Rice and myself went 10
the front door ot the Cranfield
house with search warrant" Gritts
said. "and l knocked on the door
A woman's voice, which after.
wards learned was Mrs. Cranfield's
asked What do you want
Woman Did Talking.
III told her we were officers and
had search warrant for the house
The same voice said that she'd ber
informed that the search warrant
was no account and further that II
was not good after night. officeI
Rice then spoke up and asked hor
what she was going To do, let us In OF
were we going To have to force oui
way In. and again we told her W,
were police ana had search war.
rant | spoke up and said we were
coming I'm and Rice called back e
the other officers and told them e
come on up. lie took hold of tn,
screen door and then someone ol
the inside fired and Rice fell,
81 jerkod my gun then and flret
twice through the broken glass doc
and someone around TO the side o
lnt mousse hltp lntut nt blntI VI
ficers ran up then and carried OF
ficer Rice to house next door
and called an ambulance.
1T is foolish TO even think tina
we would have fired first, becaus
there was absolutely no occasion 10
Il until after Rice was shot,
"A fow minutes after the shoot
Ing Frank Wolfe, deputy sheriff
came running up and went up TO tn
front door.
Ordered To- Keep outside.
Hello there, Bill, this is Fran
Wolfe he said. and walked on II
lie refused to allow us TO enter an
ordered us To Keep out I'm ordo
TO avoid trouble we didn't try
20 In but watched the house 50 tina
the two men couldn't escape. W
then heard someone telephopiug 10
Sheriff McCullough and later II
came"
Chief of Police George II. Blain
arrived on the scene about the tim
that tho sheriff also arrived, Chic
Blaine said Wednesday that he n
uuired OF Mccullough why the pc
lice were refused entrance who
they had a search warrant for n
place and that the police wer
"about ns able TO handle toe stu
alton as he" "rhat's right" IN
sheriff said, according To Blaine
and after several minutes Blslu
said McCullouEh told him To com