The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-08-07
DILLINGER CASE
BARES CLAR|NC
POLICE ERRORS
u. S. Agents, Other Officers
at Fault Many Times in
Hunt.
Continued From Page One

bility is not entirely beyond the
realm of conjecture.
Before taking up the final chap
ter in the career Of Dillinger, a
glance at the police work exhibited
in the case will serve to illustrate
the desperate need for a drastic
reform in methods of criminal APP
prehension.
Charges that the fiasco Of the
DNlinger hunt was caused by re-
fusals of federal agents to cooper
ate with local law enforcement Of
ficers; of nOnco-operation between
state and city police, and other
glazing faults in police work greeted
the writer at every turn in the in
vestigation of the Dillinger case.
An example Of this lack Of CO.
operation is contained in a COM
plant made by the Indiana state
police to the department Of justice
on April 90. The details are re-
vealed in this article for the first
time.
Just Federal Agents
A band of six carloads Of armed
men was seen by a private citizen in
the northern Indiana section on
April %. The six cars bore Illinois
license plates. EXcitedly, the citi-
zen telephoned state police barracks
and said he thought the men were
"Dnlinger gangsters."
State policemen, armed with sub
machine guns, we're dispatched
along highways. In the nick Of
time, state police headquarters in
indianapolis learned that the "sus-
picious persons" were federal
agents looking for Dillinger.
On the very next day, April 30,
armed men suddenly appeared at
NIooresville, Ind, near the Dillinger
homestead. Again state police re-
sponded to the call of excited per-
sons shrilly telephOning that Dill
Iinger was in town." Again the
armed men proved to be unan-
nounced federal agents.
"a telephone call might have OBJ
waited all that" said state official
today. innocent persons might
have been killed by the federal
agents or by our men"
Exhibit Poor Police Work
Poor police work was exhibited by
federal agents on at least four diff
ferent occasions in the hunt for
Dillinger, The Times investigation
disclosed.
A correspondent for The Times
who visited the scene of the SenSa-
tional escape of Dillinger and his
gangsters from the Little Bohemia
lodge asserts that there was little
excuse for the failure to effect
capture.
Only one road led from the lodge
to the main highway, The Times
correspondent asserted, and Dillin-
ger could have been trapped had the
federal agents fired from closer
range.
Earlier in April federal agents
had missed Dillinger by inches
when the bandit evaded them in a
Chicago tavern. Evelyn Frechette
was captured at this time. At st.
Paul, Mimi, and Saul Ste. Marie,
the home of John Hamilton's sis
ter, Dillinger again beat the fed
eral agents to the jump.
City Officers at Fault
indianapolis police likewise were
at fault many times in the search
for Dillinger A particularly glar-
ing error was registered against the
local police when they failed to
check automobile agencies when
Dillinger wrecked his car near
NobleSville April 7.
State and county officials notified
the city police that Dillinger'S car
had been wrecked. An Order-or
rather a suggestion-waS given that
all automobile agencies in the city
be checked for any cash sales OF
cars.
1t was known that Dillinger's
habit was to pay cash for his cars.
Yet half an hour after this Sug-
gestion had been made to city
police, Evelyn Fretchette bought a
car from a local dealer, paid cash
for it. waited three hours for de-
Ivory of the car. and delivered it