Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-25
POLICEMAN HELD
FOR GRAND Jury IN
RUM CAR Staying
Clyde O. Rouse, Eleventh
Precinct, Is Suspended
Without Pay.
AUT0IST, II, is SHOT
TO DEATH IN CHASE
Officers Tell Inquisitors of Custom
Of Firing at Smoke-screen
Machines.

Policeman Clyde o. Rouse of the
eleventh precinct was held for the grand
jury by coroners jury this afternoon
| inquiring into the death of Ottmer Her.
man Fleming, 81 years old, of 300 N
street southwest, who he shot to death
early yesterday morning during chase
of Fleming's liquor-laden car through
Anacostia.
The jury deliberated for As minutes
before arriving at verdict. Rouse was
Immediately taken to the Office of the
District attorney, where he posted bond
for his release.
Rouse was Immediately suspended
from duty without pay.
Just before the end of the hearing
two policemen from the eleventh pre-
ctnct had told the jurors tnat it was
the custom for officers pursuing rum
cars equipped with Smokescreens to fire
in an effort to disable the fugitive ma
chine. Fleming's car yesterday morn
ing was laying down a dense cloud of
smoke which almost blinded the officers
in the rear
Another Car Chased.
Testimony by Policeman Guy Rhone.
also OF the eleventh precinct, brought
out that about three minutes after the
fatal shooting of Fleming. he and Po-
llceman w. H. Humphreys chased an
| other car which was laying down a
smokescreen over the path Travelled by
Flemlng, and fired six shots at it. He
SAID that they were about 80 yards be-
hind.
The witness, who was driving the
| machine, told the jurors he fired twice.
and 1 don't know how many times
Humphreys fired" he declared Hum
phreyS later said he sent four shots
IN the direction Of the car ahead. AS
they reached the scene where Flem-
lng's unconscious form lay in his car,
| they gave up the chase.
Rhone, Rouse and B. r. Campbell.
who drove the car in which Rouse was
riding. testified that they had shot at
rum cars under similar circumstances
before and that such was the custom
| among policemen in their section of the
city. through which most of the liquor
traf1ic Of Southern Maryland runs.
Fifth Shot Kills Autoist.
The first police investigator who took
the stand was Headquarters Detective
Thomas F. Sweeney, who said that the
bootleg car had four holes in the left
rear fender and license plate all grouped
within radius of less than one foot.
The fifth shot crashed through the top
OF the car and passed completely
through Fleming's skull, dropping spent
on the floor of the machine Both
Campbell and Rouse explained the loca-
ton of the fifth shot by SAYING that
the latter officer fired just as the car
| struck bump in the middle of Elev-
enth street. Headquarters Detective H.
&. Wilson informed the jury that the
| surface OF the street is of extremely
rough cobble stone.
Police Lie in Wait.
Campbell said that he and Pouse
were lying in wait at S street and Mich
OILS avenue southeast for a car they had
been warned would try to bring through
load of liquor and which was eouipped
with a smoke screen. With them were
two other cars. one occupied by Rhone
and Humphreys and the other by acting
Sergt. C. F. Smith and Private C. r.
| Sydnor.
The last car sighted the machine
turning into Nichols avenue and pur-
sued it across the Anacostia Bridge.
There they overlook it and found that
what they had thought to be liquor was
load Of musical instruments. They
had started cruising up Eleventh street
when the car driven by Fleming. who
was accompanied by John Stevens, 27
years old, of 800 N street southwest.
turned into Nichols avenue from S street
| without observing stop sign. They
gave chase north on Nichols avenue and
across AnacoStia Bridge. At the north
end OF the bridge, Campbell declared,
they tried to pull up alongside the car,
in which cases of liquor could be seen.
Just then, he said the smoke screen
was turned on and Fleming tried to
crowd them into the curb. 1t was at
this time, he said, that Rouse began
shooting.
The chase ended at Eleventh and K
streets southeast where Stevens leaned
out and fled through an alley. He was
pursued and captured by Rouse.
The wounded Fleming had just been
dispatched to Casualty Hospital in the
machine OF Acting Sergt. Smith when
the second liquor-laden car flashed by
at about so miles an hour, emitting
clouds of smoke. Rhone and Humphreys
were following firing their guns. They
stopped at K street to assist Campbell,
who then took Stevens to the precinct,
where he was charged with illegal pos
session and transportation of liquor and
with the use Of smoke screen.
Rouse on the stand was asked by
Assistant United States Attorney VIII
liam T. Collins whether he had ever
ridden behind a smoke screen before.
He said that he had done so a hun
dred times and fired on many previous
occasions.
Both Campbell and Rouse, who are
clean-cut appearing young officers, were
obviously nervous during the progress
of the hearing, but neither had any
thing to say when the verdict was an
nounced.