The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-05-14

head to foot with tomatoes and apples,
which fortunately had found their mark
instead of the more dangerous missiles.
Arriving at Lenox avenue with his pris-
oner he shouted to a motorman passing
in street car, but he put on more speed,
disdaining to give assistance. BY this
time there were nearly seven hundred
negroes attacking the officer, but not once
did he let the woman go. Some one had
called the reserves and when they arrived
Fitzgibbons had reached 1880 street, with
the mob of blacks still knitting him and
throwing missiles.
He brought the prisoner to the station
house and collapsed from loss of blood.
Rhinelander Waldo, then Commissioner
of Police. happened to be at the station
house and took the officer to the hospital,
there being some delay in the arrival of
the ambulance. He had been stabbed
over the eye, on the face, neck. both arms
and hands, totaling nineteen wounds. The
woman was sentenced by Judge Mulqueen
to Auburn penitentiary for three years.
Fitzgibbons was on sick leave for two
months and received departmental COM
mendation for conspicuous bravery and
his first bronze star.
At about 1870 in the morning of April
16, 1916, while on duty, Fitzgibbons was
walking along Seneca avenue near Wood
bine street in the Borough of Queens and
was attracted by frantic cries. Looking
up he saw woman leaning out OF a
second story window shouting "For Gods
sake, get policeman; man is trying to
kill me and my daughter!" She added
that the man was in the hall with two
loaded guns. Don't go in," she screamed
"he's drunk and will kill you. He don't
know what he's doing"
Fitzgibbons entered the house, a four
family building similar to thousands in
Brooklyn, and heard the maniac smash.
ing panes of glass in apartment doors
as he made for the roof. It was quite
dark and only the moonlight through the
skylight made 1t possible to see a man
crouched In the corner of the top floor
hallway. He had a gun in each hand and
made a rush for the officer, who had
nothing to defend himself with but a
billy. Before the wild man could pull
the trigger Fitzgibbons struck him with
his billy just as, then police sergeant,
now Lieut.. Burke, came rushing up at
tracted by the cries OF the woman and
the crowd below. He had been Just one
second ahead of the mans trigger finger
with the club and soon disarmed the man,
with the assistance Of his fellow oficer.
The man was found to have had Grim
inal record and was wanted on q charge
of bigamy In New Jersey. Fftzgibbons
received his second commentator and
another bronze star.
During the blizzard of February, 1920
while walking south on Broadway near
Fiftieth street, Fitzgibbons was passing
the Rivoli Theater when the immense
marquee awning over the entrance col
lapsed from the terrific weight of snow
that had accumulated upon it. The of.
ficer, who had barely escaped the falling
steel apron, realized that several persons
had been pinned underneath. He crawled
In and dragged a man George Godfrey,
who had been severely injured, to place
OF safety. He then went back and got
Mrs. Margaret Ward, scrub woman.
Going beneath again he rescued another
woman.
No sooner had Sergeant Fitzgibbons
brought the last person from the perilous
spot under the heavy awning than it COM
pletely collapsed and flattened itself out
upon the sidewalk with crash Of glass
and steel It weighed sixty-five tons. God.
frey will be crippled for life from his
injury.
Fitzgibbons received honorable mention
from the Police Department, gold and
silver star and the department medal for
the bravest act in the year.
Again while In Jamaica March 20, 1920,
call was received at the station house
that a woman was on the stoop of a
Fulton street house fourishing revolver
and threatening to shoot any one who
passed the house in either direction. Fitz-