Evening star., 1954-10-22
Bod Judqment by Police?

JSAN6A@sS~eS
the Montgomery County Police De-
partment are matters of great concern
to the citizens of Montgomery County.
The article in the Official Detective
magazine titled, Break Up Bethesda
Bombing Terror" my previous letter
to The Star and the editors note re-
veal that there is still some question
about the good Judgment of the Police
Department, and particularly of the
Detective Bureau. Chief Orme states
that members of the Police Department
did not assist or cooperate in making
material for the Official Detective Mag
azine However, the only reasonable
explanation for a picture Of the Sec
retary Of the Detective Bureau holding
the States alleged evidence while. stand
ing in the Office of the Rockville De-
tective Bureau. two pictures Of the
States alleged evidence which bear
the official label, Montgomery County
Police Department" and picture Of
an officer of the Detective Bureau, is
that some member or members of the
Montgomery County Police Department
co-operated with the shabby Official
Detective magazine. It is inconceivable
that these pictures were taken without
the knowledge and active participation
of some members of the Detective Bu-
reau. 1t is frightening to think that
the Detective Bureau would not know
that pictures of the States evidence
were taken by an outsider without the
permission of some of its officers.
The article in question contains quo
tations alleged to have been statements
made by Lieutenant John P. Leahy,
Detective Sergeant Lloyd Whalen, De-
tectives Edward Barber and Albert
Mickey Harris, and Captain q. w.
Linthicum. These quotations, together
with accurate descriptions of these men,
even to knowing the nickname of one
of them, show such an intimate famil-
iarity with the Interviewing Of the Po-
lice Department that 1t is unlikely that
Author Cornwall procured this familiar
ity without the consent of some men,
ber or members of the department al.
It may be, perhaps, that the Police
Department did not actively intend to
prejudice the rights of my son, but
in any event its consorting with this
magazine shows either negligence or
bad Judgment. BY apparently releasing
information which should belong to the
Police Department files, discredit has
been brought to the department,
Bethesda and Montgomery County in
those parts of the United States where
this magazine is sold.
The implications of this situation
far transcend the guilt or innocence of
my son. If police department makes it
possible for reporter connected with
a cheap publication to go through it's
confidential files in regard to the activ-
ity of any citizen, guilty or innocent, of
this county. and thereby makes it pos
sible for citizen to become the object
of ridicule and shame, it will then be-
come possible for any citizen of this
county to become the subject of black
mail
No citizen of the County, however
innocent, can now be sure that he will
not be libeled at any time either before
OF after trial or preliminary hearing,
or even an arrest, by a commercial
magazine which apparently has access
to the files of the Montgomery County
Police Department.
In addition to these comments, the
very fact that publication did oc-
no cooperation between the Office of
the States Attorney and the Police
Department. I, want to assume that
had the Office of the States Attorney
known of this pending publication that
it would have intervened, it therefore
appears that the States Attorneys Of
flee did not know of the alliance of the
Police Department and Official Detec-
tive magazine and this being so it is
only proper to conclude that there is
not the cooperation between these two
offices that Montgomery County citi-
zens have right to expect.
In short, am not convinced that Mr..
Cornwall, all alone and without as
sistance, was able to procure the in
formation which he published.
James L. FieSer.