Year: 1874

A Peaceable Citizen Clubbed to Inscnsi-


bility by Brutal OEicer-The Legal


Learning of Judge Sherwood-Agains


the Law to Stand on the Street SUM-


day.


Among the cases tried at the Special Sessions
yesterday morning was one which was entered on
the calendar as assault and battery" entitled
Castle VS.. Mccarthy. The complainant is police
officer. and when he was put on the stand ne told
the following story:-I was walking on my beat on
First avenue near Forty ninth street, on the Sun.
day night before last and noticing crowd around
the corner / ordered them to move OF. They be-
gan to move down toward Forty-eghth street,
and followed slowly after them. At
Forty-eighth street they stopped, but when they
saw me coming they began to move on again;
when got to the corner the prisoner was stand
ing there; he was not on the sidewalk proper, he
was leaning with his back against the corner OF a
grocery store window; told him 70 move on ana
he wanted to know why he should move on as he
was doing nothing: told him to clear the corner
as he was obstructing the public highway; he
laughed and l gave him shove and he hit me
with mis- cane; when be did this cqDbed him
and he hit again, and | clubbed him
more. When ! began To club him crowd OF
rutfians-some OF the party wnom | had chased
away-began to peit me WIN stones, TO-, 10 prevent n
station house when got the fight out OF him ana
made charge OF dlsorderly conduct and assault
ana battery.


II NAV be well TO state here that Castle is q man
six feet nigh, with powerful limbs; wnle Mccarthy
is a short man about five feet, three inches. The
cane with which the officer complains he was
struck was thin, flexible walking stick, while
the officers CLUB was OF the regulation size, weigh
ing in all probability ten times as much as The
cane.


Mr.. Price, in his cross-examination, elected the
important fact that the officer did not at the time
he cluboed HIM or since recognize Mccarthy as
one OF the parties whom he mad ordered on the
Forty-ninth street corner. Mccarthy was put on
the stand to testify IN his own behalf. He swore
that on sunday night he was standing on the cor.
ner OF Forty-eighth street and FIRST avenue ABOUT
$50 feet from where he lives, when the complain
ant came up to him and ordered him away !;
shortly before the ofcer came crowd OF
young men had peen standing on tse
corner talking about some one who had
done something to them; not knowing the par
and they moved Of, alter standing there for some
moments. Then tae oflcer came up and took MN
by the collar, and showing hlin With great vlo-
lence, SAID, "Git away from here.n The handing
OF the oficer so rude that Mccarthy lost his
hat, and when he stopped to pick II up the officer
hit nm with the club across the thighs, accom-
panying his violence with abuse. Mccarthy was
so outraged at the oticer's abuse that ne raised
his rattan cane TO strike when the 0fncer VINO
had neavy club in ms hand, began to use 1t. In
a moment the blood began TO spurt from the gashes
the club had made IN McCarthy's head and
he completely blinded with the warm red
blood RON his wounds; he could offer no resis-
tance and the officer continued his cruel clubbing.
Mccarthy showed his wounds to the Court. The
top OF his head was covered with white spots In
dicating where the club had cut him. Judge Sher-
wood said TO the prisoner, "Dont you know IT'S
against the law 10 stand on the street :" Mr.
Price answered for his client, mo, Judge, he does
not, neither do you; and as lawyer, know OF no
law which prevents man from standing on the
street on sunday any more than any other day IN
the week.


Mrs. Donovan and Mrs. McKenna, two ladies'
who saw the outrage. gave testimony when in
every particular corroborated that OF Mccarthy.
The Officer mad no witness to prove the assertion
/ that Mccarthy cut him. Certainly the onicer at
the desk at the time OF the arrest could tell
whether he was cut or not. The Court, IN decld-
ing the case, said, 'McCarthy, you are DIS
Charged and the prisoner went his way, iol-
lowed by the giant otncer, to whom the Court ad-
ministered not one word OF rebuke.