New Britain herald., 1929-10-14


 Sett street, was convicted in police court today on five counts of viola tlon of the motor vehicle law and was hned S125 and costs by Judge stanley J. Tracesii. For driving While under the influence of lfouor the fine was $1OO; for having defec- i've brakes, $10; for having no sig nal device, $5; for having no license and certificate of registration in his possession, $5 each.
 Officer Daniel J. Cosgrove > testi- fled that he saw a car driven hv Wright turn from Church street into Main street about o'clock Saturday morning and he stepped into the road to warn the driver against yio- latlng the one-Way traffic regulation on Church street. Wright stopped the car and the officer ordered him out on noticing that he appeared to have been drinking,
 There was an odor of alcohol ap- parent ana Wright was unsteady on ms feet, according to the officer. who called Officer John O'Kcefe to ob- serve the case. On the way to tho police station Officer O'Keefe, who was driving, had no occasion to usc the brakes or the horn, but on the way 10 garage to put up the car the horn was found to be silent and the emergency brake useless, accord ing to the testimony.
 The foot brake worked satisfac- torily.
 Sergeant Michael J. Flynn testified that he was on desk duty when Wright was Ted" in. He had no , Incense or certificate of registration and the odor of alcohol could be smellcd across the desk. The ser geant told Wright to walk few feet but he almost fell as he started. There was no question as to his un. fitness to drive, according to the sergeant.
 After Effect of Party
 Wright testified that he and three friends went to Hartford Friday night and had party at the home or an acquaintance. At about 11:45 o'clock they had beer and wine, but very little, he said. He did not drive
 
 Main street about 1:20 o'clock friend asked him to drive him home. winch he did. He was returning in an eaSterly direction on Church street and did not notice the sign ordering onc-Way traffic.
 Officer Cosgrove after ordering him out of the car, told him to get 1 -9i in reached the police station, the of ficer pushed him back and forth by the arm "to make it appear as if was drunk" Wright claimed. Be- fore being locked up, Wright said he asked Sergeant Flynn to call physician for an examination, but the sergeant ignored him and no physician was called.
 AS to the condition of the car. Wright admitted that he had khowl- edge of the poor condition of the emergency brake and the horn. A wire was loose on the latter and he had not lad time to fix it. he said The license and certificate of regis tratlon were in his vest pocket, and he happened to have left the vest at home.
 Attorney Thomas F. McDonough, representing Wright, scored the pO- lice for their methods of handling drunken driving cases. Any driver with the odor of alcohol on his breath at l or o'clock in the morn ing hasn't got a chance" he said, If the police make up their mind to charge him with operating while under the influence of liquor. The practice is the same everywhere, not in New Britain alone, he said.
 Prosecuting Attorney Woods took exception to this statement, ar.k de- clared that Sergeant Flynn was one of the best sergeants in the depart mcnt, a fair-minded man who would rather cut off his right arm' than say a man was under the in fluenCc of liquor if it was not so. q don't like to have these attor- neys coming in here like this and attracking the police unfairly" Mir. Woods said, to which Judge Ira ceSki replied that in his experience on the bench and prior to that, when he was praCticing in police court, he had always found Sergeant Flynn absolutely reliable, and in this case he believed him, but aside from all the police testimony, it was ap- parent to him that Wright was guilty if for no other reason than that he changed his story on the witness stand. Ordinarily the court does not impose fines on drivers who leave their registration certificates and licenses at home, he said, but in this case he noticed that Wright had such a charge nolled some time ago, so 1t was not his first offcnse. He also pointed out that under the statutes, it was not necessary for the state to prove a driver intoXi- cated. It was sufficient to prove that driver was under the in- fuence of liquor, and he had no. doubt as to Wrights having been in that condition.
 Spccdcr Fined S1O
 A plea of not guilty to the charge of speeding was entered by Pasquale Lucco 23. of Kensington, who was represented by Attorney Leo V. Gaffney,
 MotoAcycle Officer w. P. Hayes testified that he followed Lucco from Roberts street to Franklin Square on South Main street about 1:45 o'clock Saturday afternoon at the rate of 40 miles an hour. There was no reduction in speed as they passed intersecting streets, accord ing to the officer. Lucco testified that he was driv- ing at the approximate speed of 20 to 25 miles an hour. and there was not another car but his along the way. He knew Officer Hayes was behind Jim but he did not think |