Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-13
LAWYERS NAMED
IN STAPLES CASE
LAY PROBE PLANS
Will Relieve D. c. Heads of
Responsibility of Passing
on Jury Report.
SPECIAL CIVILIAN BODY
ALSO TO BE APPOINTED
Third Degree Investigation May
Bring Excoriation of
"Higher-Ups."

Five prominent Washington lawyers,
composing a special board created by
the Commissioners to relieve them Of
the responsibility of passing on the rec
concentrations of the grand jury in the
Staples case, will meet this week to or
ganize and undertake an independent
investigation of the Police Department.
The board was appointed by the
Commissioners yesterday after a weeks
elaboration over the grand jury's SEN
sational report, and a prolonged dis
cusSion of various plans for removing
the revived Staples case from the juris-
diction of the District government
The five men composing the board
are Henry P. Blair. Col. Walter C. Gle
plane. Col j. Miller Kenyon, Daniel
W. O'Donoghue and Stanton c. Peelle
All of them have consented to serve as
a civic duty.
Another special board, made up Of
five outstanding citizens, is to be estab-
liShed by the Commissioners this week
and held in readiness to act in the event
the investigation of the board of law
yers diScloSeS a basis for the grand
jurys findings and recommendations
are made for the punishment Of men,
bers of the Police Department who were
responsible for the dismissal of Staples
in 1923. The civilian group will be con-
Stituted as an extraordinary Police Trial
Board.
Two Boards Held Necessary.
District officials explained that the
two boards are necessary if the investi-
CATION of the grand jury's charges war
rants the prosecution of members of the
police force. The board of lawyers will
have no judicial authority Its sole duty
will be to investigate. limiting its field
to the allegations contained in the rec
port Of the grand jury. Its report will
be submitted to the Commissioners.
The civilian board, il it functions, will
have the same power as a police trial
board. 1t will summon witnesses. take
testimony under oath and impose a
penalty upon conviction.
In the meantime. Department of JUS
tice agents pushed their investigation
of third-degree abuses with indications
that it will reach a climax this week,
when final grand jury action will be
sought in an undetermined number of
cases of alleged police brutality.
Other Indictments Forecast.
Indictment of another group OF police
men attached to various precincts is
predicted by those in touch with de-
velopments. Five officers of the first
precinct already have been indicted
and arraigned on charges of felonious
and simple assault
There are strong indications that in
addition to lodging criminal charges
against individual policemen accused of
physical participation in third-degree
attacks the grand jury is considering
formulation of report eXcoriating
''hgher-upS."
While evidence so far presented to
the jury did not incriminate any officer
higher than a precinct detective, the
grand jurors have Intercepted an in
spector, captain and an acting lieu
tenant regarding their specific or gen.
eral knowledge of ird-degree practices.
Must Probe Department.
The board of lawyers appointed by
the Commissioners yesterday must in
vestigate the police department because
of the very nature of the grand jury S
charges-that the dismissal of Staples
could not have been accomplished
without some knowledge, consent and
cooperation of certain members of the
Metropolitan Police Department. in
Guiding some of its officials" Further,
the grand jury charged that there exists
in the police department "a false sense
of loyalty supplemented by vicious
system of reprisals for those who tell
the truth
How the investigating board proposes
to proceed is undetermined, because it
has not yet been organized. In fact.
the five members will not receive formal
notification of their appointment until
tomorrow. although all five of them
agreed to serve before the Commits
sioners announced their appointment
If the individual members of the
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