Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-30
OLTCEAREDEFENDED
Public Asked TO Give Them, Not
Criminals, Sympathy.

AAAA<iNIAl
The celebrated shot that was heard
around the world bids fair to take sec
0nd place to Policeman Rouse's fatal
shot in the minds of great many
Wa ningtonians. and some Representa-
tiycs and Senators as well.
There has been ei&Ht Geal of dis
GU ,on, pro and con, and much advice
offered. as well as many opinions rather
freely expressed.
so I, too. wish TO fall in line and
cypress what l feel confident is the
sentiment Of nine tantfs of my brother
policemen when l say l heartily in
GorSe Ohicer Rouse's action in firing on
the particular smoke-scrccn operator
whom he killed.
1 wonder how many people have ever
tried pursuing another car at 90 miles
an hour I wonder how many have ever
stopped to think just how they would
act if they themselves were chasing a
suspected rum runner and he were sud-
denly to turn a binding cloud Of foul
smoke and gas on them.
Most OF us are prone TO imagine that
if we were in the other fellow place,
we could have done much better. We
likewise often underestimate the diff
culties attendant upon some others al
loited task. 1t is so easy to see mis-
takes and errors afterward
SO in writing this 1 feel that I speal,
with some authority, due to the fact
that, first. I am member Of The local
police force and, second, I have chased
a rum runner at break-neck speed, only
to have him turn a smoke screen loose
ON me, forcing me to give up the chase,
and, third. l am at present under SEN
tCrce of dismissal from the police force
because l shot a cOlorcd youth in the
foot whom l suspected of having COM
mitted or attempted murder.
In all fairness to policeman. it mus.
be admitted that he is confronted with
a difficult and hazardous task. Each
night and day certain portion of the
city is assigned to his care. His is the
sole responsibility for its peace and
security. If sometimes he is a trifie
OTer2ealotls in his efforts to protect the
citizens and uphold the law he has
sworn to enforce. who can blame him?
If sometimes, in the heat of a life
ana death struggle or in time of great
emergency, he makes a mistake, is he to
be mercilessly judged?
We must never lose sight Of the
point that there is a vast difference
between q policeman who deliberately
"'SN'
son and one who accidentally COM
mlts enc while striving to perform his
duty.
About two years ago, while assigned
Tor duty to the very section of the city
near where the aforementioned killing
TOOK place, l was a participant in an
automobile chase of a suspected run,
runner. 1t occurred about 1890 enc
morning shortly after I had left the
station house subsequent to my tour of
duty. On the night in question 1 was
uilVlhg q new, or almost new, straight
eight, which was the property of a
Trend OF mine. I had volunteered to
drive one OF my brother officers to his
nome in Maryland. We had lust got
ten started and were approaching Penn
sylVania Avenue Bridge southeast when
a large touring car passed us travelling
Iast and headed toward town. 1t was
Enthusiastically a rum runner and loaded
at that, SO we decided to pursue it.
My companion, Bill k, thought he
recognized the driver of the LIQUOR car
We had scarcely turned and started
10 overhaul them when they recognized
our Intention and Immediately put on
tull speed. They were loaded pretty
heavily, however, and the car i was
orNlng just purred a pleasing song at
60 or better, 50 we began to draw up
on them. They kept constantly look
ing back, and when We had reached a
point about 80 feet behind them. 1
noticed one of them bend over, and
suddenly thick smoke began to roll
from their exhaust Almost imrle-
diately it began to smart my eyes and
burn my throat and nostrils
l tried to keep close to the other car
so as to use it for guide, but it was
hopeless. I applied my brakes, but be-
fore I could stop 1 narrowly missed
striking milk truck. In avoiding the
milk truck I SWerved and finally came
to rest between two houses after Jump
ing the curb and just missing two trees
in front lawn.
I then glanced in the little windshield
mirror to see il my hair had turned
white yet-well, my hair hadn't, but my
face had. 1t was as white as the
proVerbial ghost I turned TO Bill 10
see how he was taking it, and Bill said
You know when we were crossing that
lawn, l was wishing 1 hadn't hid my
insurance paper under that bunch of
papers in the desk. My wife would
never have found it there. I am going
to leave it on the mantelpiece from now
on"
If the citizens who delight in criticiz-
ing the methods of police officers in
capturing these liquor men don't realize
that smoke screens endanger the lives
of pursuing officers and force them into
submission, then the rum runners do,
or else they wouldn't take the trouble
and grave risk of using them. You
may rest assured that every officer who
has ever tried to pursue a car through
one OF those clouds Of smoke realized
that his life was in danger.
Rum runners and their ilk usually
comprise the worst element in any
community. They are the old-fash-
ioned highWaymen in modern guise.
They are primarily INSCRIPTIONS and
the very eXigencies of their work force
them to be desperate. How a person
can work up a case of sympathy for
the people who earn their living by law
breaking and violence Is more than I
can understand.
Certainly they are not entitled to 1t.
Every time dishonest man fiourishes,
il is at the expense Of some honest
citizen or citizens Leniency has never
been known to act as deterrent to-
ward crime. but rather the opposite
has been true.
We hear an awful lot about the duty
of policeman toward the citizen, but
how often do we hear OF the Cltlzen
duty towards the policeman? 1 main
tain that the citizen has such a duty
to consider, and a very important and
necessary one as we'll. They should
respect and obey the policeman always,
and do everything in their power to
assist him in his sworn duty. The
very attitude of certain citizens often
makes policeman's work very unpleas-
ant. 1t is an age-old trait of human
nature to resent, even if unconSeiously,
constituted authority. We find it easy
to sympathiza with some wretch who
finds himself in the tolls of justice, and
it is seldom that we stop to think of
what the consequences would be II he
and his kind were leniently dealt with.
The City of Washington owes great
deal to its present police force, This
city is one of model cities of the United
States. where organized crime is con-