The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-05-12

s .f n. 4
 nue. Bridgeport. Conn.
 | During the, taking of the testi-
 mony secured from Officers Rich
 ter and Herr the Colt revolvers
 which they carried on the evening
 of March 18th and the morning of
 March 18th. 1881. I also secured
 from Dr DeLuca the bullet taken
 by Dr Curley from the spinal col
 umn of Viola Walker; also a bullet
 removed from the framework of
 the top of the Peebles' car in which
 Mrs Walker was travelling at the
 time she was injured. All of these
 were submitted to a ballistic expert
 who rendered me written report
 on the projectiles and the weapons
 from which they were fred.
 Having considered all of the tes-
 timony taken at the inquest togeth-
 CT with the report Of the autopsy
 and the report of the ballistics ex-
 pert, I on the 18th day of May, A.
 D. 1881, made the following finding
 concrening said death:
 On the afternoon of March 18th,
 1881 William Walker and his wife
 Viola left Bridgeport in the car of Alfred Peebles, together with his wife, also Viola, to visit their friends
 MT and Mrs Lester Douglas, who lived on the state road just over the line from Southbury in the town of Woodbury, the latter being the care- takers of the Meadvale farm. The car in which they travelled was the new style Ford, coupe with cloth top. It was equipped with a rumble seat, but they did not use the lat ter, all of them sitting in the single enclosed seat. They left Bridge port around four o'clock, drove by way of Newtown and Southbury and arrived at Douglass at about dark. They visited Mir and Mrs Douglas and after an evening of cards, end- ing with light refreshments, left at about twelve thirty. On the same evening, word was received at the Beacon, Falls Barracks of the State Police Department that two men who were sentenced to prison had attacked the New York State troopers, who were talking them to the penal institution to which they had been sentenced, had killed one of the officers, the other esca ping, had gotten away with the car, had stolen another car and come into Connecticut, having been seen. in the vicinity of Danbury. Officers
 Richter aid Herr were assigned the task of patroling the section of state highway from the Housatonic river through the town of Southbury in an endeavor, if possible, to appre- hend these men should they come into that locality. They left Beacon Falls at about eleven thirty, went up to Naugatuck and Middlebury and patrolled the road through to Southbury. Richter, who had been off duty during the evening, was in plain clothes, armed with a 3S cali bre Colt revolver. Herr was in also armed with a 3S calibre Colt revolver and had his police whistle with him. Richter was driving and they were using new type Ford runabout, with the side curtain up on the right side.
 Upon arriving on the state high way they were to patrol, they stop ped a number of cars. Herr. who was in uniform, stepping into the road to do the stopping, and they no difficulty in making the various stops. When the Peebles' car left Dougless,' the po- lice car with Herr and Richter was on the state highway in the town of Southbury and between Douglas and the bridge over the Housatonic river in the town of Newtown. At that time the policemen were driv- ing toward Sandy Hook and in leisurely manner. Peebles was driv- ing his own car; sitting beside him was his wife, and on the outside of the seat was William Walker, Mrs Viola Walker sitting in her hus- bans lap. As the Peebles' car was passing along the highway near the point where the road turns off to cross the flood bridge to South Bri- tain, it came upon the police car. The officers were on the lookout for all traffic, saw that the Peebles' car was coming too fast for Herr to get out and give it proper signal, So Richter increased the speed of the car and drew away from Peebles' car. He increased his speed to such an extent that he lost sight of the Peebles' car and pass ing the state road to South Britain. continued on to point near the place where the state road formerly underpassed the railroad near South Britain railroad station. At this point he stopper the car on his own right side of the road with his neaQIlgnL anu tall AlBHI uuhHAH5' oS there is a straight stretch of nearly a third of mile along which tho car would have to pass and which would give the officers ample opportunity to make the stop and to be seen by the occupants of the approaching car.
 Herr stepped out into the middle of the road behind his own car with a hand iashlight and with his W h stle in readiness. As the Peebles' car approached, he stood in the road and flashed his light. throwing the light occasionally on his own uniform so that the occu- pants of the car could observe the latter. The Peebles' car came along the stretch and as it came close. Herr continued to flash his fash light, then blew his whistle; the Peebles' car did not, however, dim inish it's speed nor did it turn from the center of the road. and Herr had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck. The Peebles car continued on at undiminished speed and Herr got into the car