The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-01-27
ALGER'
DEFENSE
PLEAH|T
Witnesses Refuse to Say
That Officer Fired at
Youth First.
MOVE MADE TO lMPEACH
Rourt Adiourns to See if
There Is Precedent.
MOVE MADE TO IMPEACH
BY Eldora Field
Times staff CORRESPONDENT

JlWBS SLuIT COTTC6DOnuGHC
DANVlLLE, Ind, Jan. 27.-De-
fense attorneys for Gene Alger, But
ler University student on trial for
the murder of John J. Buchanan,
Indianapolis Negro trafficman, moved
this morning to impeach one of their
own witnesses, when Henry J. Fox,
225 N. Capitol Ave-, refused to say
that he swore to statement that
Buchanan fired through a door at
Alger first.
Court was adjoured to see if there
was precedtn for such action.
Excitement in the courtroom was
brought to high pitch when Asa
Smith, defense attorney, and John
It. Hume Of Danville, State attor-
ney, became involved in q fist fight.
The men had to be separated.
Strole said he got off traction
car near the Statehouse- on the
morning of the shooting and saw
Alger standing on the grass about
two feet from a closed automobile,
parked at the curb. Strole said he
nodded at Alger and went on. He
had gone about fifty feet, he said,
when he heard voices and turned
around and saw somebody grab AL
gers arm.
did you see Alger do anything
to the door Of that car" Chief De.
tense Attorney Otis Gulley asked.
mo, sir, did not" Strole replied.
The State rested it's case late
Wednesday afternoon, and imme-
diately Fred /. King, defense attor-
apey, began his opening statement
~ A shiny new silver badge-a
Neuth's desire to flash it and make
an arrest--that's what caused the
tragedy, King told the jury, severe
ly censoring Alvin e. Ford, owner of
the auto Alger was accused Of at
tempting to steal. King referred to
Ford as this man with a new badge
in his coat and new certificate of
membership in the Horse Thief De-
teetive Association, who made an il
legal arrest"
"Followirg events Ito the tire
store" said King, I'VE will not de-
pend upon two policemen to tell
what happened there. We will prove
by fair and unbiased witnesses that
when Officer Mosbey telephoned DO
lice headquarters for instructions he
did not say I have a boy here,
found stealing car but that he
used the expression, fooling around
car. We shall also prove that
the 10y did not exclaim to officer
Hadley, Stick 'em up
I'VE have three witnesses who
Will impeach the testimony of Beyer
(the roomig house proprietor and
who will relate to you how he told
them that the first shot came from
the outside. We will show by cir.
cumstances that officer Buchanan
not only fired first. but in all proba-
bility fired two shots at Alger."
Buchanan Warned
We will show that Buchanan had
been warned that n man considered
desperate character, with a gun,
was in that closet. and that Buc-
hanan had therefore approached qui.
city; that Beyers testimony in which
he pitty-patted on the rail of this
tness box Stimulating approaching
footsteps was untrue"
The yellow pine closet door, intro.
duced as a States exhibit last week.
was again brought into the room at
this point and King indicated what
he considered the course of the bull
let's shot through it, when Aleer
was on the inside and Buchanan out
side.
buchanan, an intelligent officer.
with the. information he had. took
no chances. He shot through the
door, intending to terrorize or to kill
the supposed bandit" said King.
THE law of self-defense is that A
person has a right to defend himself
when he is where he has a right to
be- insofar as his assailant is con.
cerned. Consider this boys situa-
ton. Subjected to illegal arrest.
roughly handled in the tire store,
knowing that he was about to be
subjected to dishonor, disgrace, he
~"PNN' AlSli, luiihiliS Will DulIeL
wounds in his leg, he was here at
this Boyer House. caught like a rat
in trap. lie took the only means
OF escape. He had a right to be
there as far as his assailant was
concerned"
He was just boy exercising his
right to escape from the pursuers
who We're manifestly trying to kill
him. We will show that he did not
point his gun at Officer Sheets when
ne was in the Brizendine car. Wit
nesses will here tell you why he
couldn't have done so. Later at the
hospital he was surrounded by burly
pollcemen-men who had sought to
take his life and they were inter.
2sted in SECURING his supposedly dy-
III declaration. Why? because
they sought to protect Sheets, or
whoever fired that almost fatal shot
at Gene at New York and Illinois
SITS. IL the boy had died, the state
ment would have been complete
defense for the officers involved.