Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-13
AGENT
WHO SHOT TUGGLE
To Be PROSECUTED
3rother-in-Law of Victim
Bitterly Denounces Action
of OfficerS-Says Forsyth
County Is Aroused

who shot and wounded Emmett Tug
gle, a young Albanian, on a high
way in Forsyth county Friday
night, because the automobile IN
which Tuggle was riding did not
stop at Spears command, and in
which automobile there was no IL
quor, will be prosecuted to the full
extent of the law, it was announced
Saturday night by I. G. Cochran
brother-in-law of Tuggle.
eve are going to have Spears ar
rested next week and are going 20
prosecute him to the full extent OF
the law" said Cochran. 1--WE are 60
ing to find out if a law-abiding cltl-
zen travelling a public highway can
be- shot in the back without warn
ing, for DO cause whatever with
out some punishment of the man
who shoots him. The Anglo-Saxon
spirit Of liberty is aflame in Forsyth
county as result Of this outrage,
and we are going to teach TINS
Spears and all other rough neck fed
eral officers, and all other rough
neck state officers, a well-deserved
lesson about the rights of citizens.
my brother-in-law went to For
svth county for a fox hunt with
friends TT rained so much they
could not go hunting, so he decided
to come home. He and Phil Ransom
and Chandler Clements were riding
together in the front seat of a Ford
touring car. They had drunk no
LIQUOR and had none in their pockets
or in the car. They heard no COM
mand from this man Spears to halt.
What if they had? Shall law-abid1ng
citizens be halted on the highways
as if our state were infested with
Mexican brjgards?
Shot First Warning
"The first they knew of the pres
ence of officers was when they
heard a shot behind them and En-
I NETT told them he believed he was
shot. They stopped the car. EN-
NETT was on the right hand side.
He was shot through the shoulder
and was bleeding profusely. The
officers came up and when told that
! Emmett was shot, this man Spears,
evidently speaking from a guilty
sconscience, said: Well, if you're
/ shot you shot YOURSELF which was
l a lie and he knew it. They searched
the car and found no liquor and
abandoned Emmett right there in
the road He might have died there
/ for all they knew or cared.
"The boys drove back to Cumming
and got first aid for Emmett a.
a drug store, then went to a doc
! tor, and afterwards spent the nign
at a farmhouse. Emmett came homo
! today.
/ 81 see where Dismuke, the fed
eral prohibition director, says hi;
men have a right to searchs citizens
without search warrants. If that Il
true, the constitution of Georgia
is less than a scrap of paper. The
constitution says in language a.
plain as language can be that thert
shall be no search or seizure with
out warrant When did Dismuke
with his little brief authority, be
come superior to the constitution
of Georgia?
Il see where Holbrook, the sher
if of Forsyth county, who was
with this Spears when Spears sho
my brother-in-law, says the shoot
ing was accidental. That is false
and he knows it is false.
spears is going to suffer fo'
this, if there is any manhood il
Forsyth county. And I have goo
reason to believe that there is &
great deal of manhood there, ant
that these Anglo Saxons are reused
to white heat. We are going t
prosecute Spears with able lawyer:
to the full extent of the law"
Unfortunate" Says Dismuke
Federal Prohibition Director Fred
D. Dismuke on Saturday afternoon
termed the shooting of Tuggle as
extremely unfortunate" declaring
at the same time that he considered
his men acted entirely within theil
rights under the law in attempting
| to stop Tuggle's car, which, he said
they believed contained whisky.
MY men have perfect right
under the law to search any auto
mobile on a public highway that
they believe to contain whisky, "
Mr.. .Dismuke said. THE idea that
search warrant is required is ride
ulous. 1t would be a pretty come
off if we had to get a search war
rant for every car we wanted tC
search. Do you suppose the driver
of the car would wait placidly BY
the road while we went for war
rant?
I'VE try to use discretion. in the
matter. You can usually tell by
the load on an automobile or the
suspicious actions of it's driver
whether or not it has a contrabanc
cargo. If it looks suspicious anc
we have reason to believe it contains
liquor we stop it and search 1t. VI
course we are sometimes mistaken
but the law must be enforced anc
there is no help for it.
/ However, my men have no or
ders to shoot at a fleeing automobll
or it's driver. AS a matter of tac'
they have orders not to shoot al
any portion of the car. 1t is muct
better to overhaul the car anc
blockade the road"
Tuggle was shot by federal prohi
bition agents Friday night while he
was coming from Cumming toward
Atlanta in an automobile with two
friends, Phil Ransom and Chandler
Clements. He refused to stop when
ordered to do SO, it was reported
and the officers opened fire. Tuggle
crumpled at the wheel with a pistol
bullet in his shoulder and the agents
searched the car, finding no liquor
Sheriff Holbrook, of Forsyth coun
ty, who was in the automobile with
Federal Agent Spears when that
officers fired the shot that wounded
| Tuggle, told The Journal over long
distance phone Saturday afternoon
that the shooting was accidental.