Evening star., 1923-08-28
"SH0OT-T0-KILL"
ORDER HALTS THUGS
SaWed-0ff Shotguns, Auto
matte Rifles and Positive Or
ders Given Frisco Police.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
SAN FRANCISCO, August 2s.-Are
sawed-off shotguns, automatic rifles
and armored police automobiles,
coupled with orders to all officers to
shoot to KILL" the 'long-sought psy-
Geological deterrent to crimes. of vio-
lence?
Authorities here, and citizens, too.
are asking themselves. that question
today when, for the second time with
in two months. such a program has
.Iesulted in crimes dropping to an al
most irreducible minimum.
Now they are commencing to won
oer If meeting unlawful violence
with lawful violence-a policy of sud-
den death for the thug who starts
out with murderous automatic and
black mask-isn't the real effective
panacea for crime waves.
Big Drop in Crimes.
Police orders to ''shoot to kill'' first
We're issued here two months ago.
Within sixty hours thereafter, three
Stick-up men had been shot to death
by officers and eight or nine others
Erievously wounded. Strange to say,
the public did not like such drastic
sSsAoh oSih6 ldhCl dSdiHSk SFcii uCS
perate criminals. Public opinion
forced the police to soft pedal" on
thug shooting. Meanwhile. however,
there was q surprising drop in, all
Now the .shoot-to- orders are
IN effect again. They were issued
Following weeks in which there were
= score of bold hold-ups nightly. sew
eral daylight payroll robberies and
an almost unrecordable number of
burglaries. In several instances
thugs did not hesitate at shooting
victims who showed resistance. Also
there were several vicious attacks
upon women in connection with rob-
ieries. Public opinion changed. 1t
demanded drastic action-Quick.
VIII stand Behind Them.
Chief of Police Dan o'Brien
promptly met it by laying in an extra
ssupply OF shotguns. He dealt them
out to virtually all officers, on night
duty and told them what to do in
no uncertain language.
BE careful you don't shoot up
any innocent persons-but when it's
X crook let him have it, Shoot to
kill. l will stand behind you," is
the gist of his instructions.
Activities did not stop there. how
ever. Two hundred police officers
were put in half as many armored
fivvers, each carrying an automatic
shotgun loaded with buckshot and
Idplu IRE Illlt tAdl Will SuoOl
400 bullets minute, and set to
patrolling every street in the city.
Not only that. but a dozen larger
armored cars with a squad of SINH
9arly armed officers waited in readi-
mess at various police stations to
1woop down upon any hijacker who
showed his head.
During daylight hours the same
armored cars, with other officers. were
put to cruising the streets in watchful
quest for thugs attempting payroll
robberies.
Knowledge Is Deterrent.
That the gauntlet thrown down by the
police has had its beneficient effect for
honest citizens and that thug psychol-
ogy got a sudden jolt that made 'em
sit up and take notice are attested by
results in the past forty-eight hours.
Where a week ago Saturday night
the week end Is always a fruitful pc
riod for stick-up rnen-there were al
most half hundred bold hold-ups the
number dwindled to only three Satur-
day night. The second night on which
the "shoot-to-kill' order was in effect
there were only two. On the same Sun
day night a week ago there were twen-
ty-two hold-ups. And the sudden drop
in the wave of lawleSSneSS has come
thus far without the police having to
kill or wound a single thug The
knowledge that they were ready and
anxious TO do so has had it's good ef-
fects however. The bandit element
simply is making itself scarce. 1t is
safer, and this time the 'shoot-to-kilr'
/ order will stick.