Year: 1875


mssioners by David j. Twohey Of the principal
witnesses before the Legislative Committee on Crime,
were submitted by him to the Mayor yesterday The
charges were accompanied by letter, in which MI
Twohey dates at great length the need police re-
form. The following the charges


CHARGES ONE.


George w Natsel, President of the Board Of Police
Commissioners, wholly unht for the office ne holds.


Specification l-Sad Matsen Is wilfuly and !
habitualy negligent Of his duties. 1t is the
duty Of the Superintendent OF Police TO prose-
cute before the Commissioners any and all |
charges of wrong and negligence that may be pre-
erred against subordinate members OF the force and ii
is equally incumbent upon any Police Commissioner,
knowing the Superintendent TO have neglected his
official duty TO compel its performance ana 10 punish
him for continued neglect Eighteen months
since when said Matsell was superintendent
OF Police, l called upon him at his once at
Police Headquarters and preferred numerous grave
charges against certain police captains No action
was taken upon those charges by said Matsell who
further habtually neglected his duty by failing 70
cause the suppression Of gambling houses policy shops
and other unlawful resorts the existence OF Whcn was
a matter of common notonety and constant complaint
though il s fact, established and admitted by the
best police authority that such places cannot exist
without the knowledge Of the police. And there Is
culpable lack of evidence that haseli as Ponce Com
missioner, Is an Improvement upon Aatseu as Eohee


Specifcation 2-said Matsell Superintendent of
Police was partial and brutal in his conduct and thus
a voator of the rights Of the citizen and OF the laws
he was TO observe and maintain, and his later
declarations and omissions afford proof OF better
relation of morals TO duty in this respect Some
weeks after made the charges above mentioned, in
which named, among others, Captain John hcCui
loch, then Of the Twenty-ninth and now OF
the Seventeenth precinct as toleratng panel
houses in his precinct sharing in their profits
levying blackmal and other wrongs, ! again called
upon said Masell at Police Headquarters was at that
time dshgured from q murderous assault made upon
me the night before by hired ruians; and further
CHARGED said McCulloch with instigatng this assault
upon me, and once more urged the Superintendent to
act upon these charges whereupon he wrathfuy ordered
me out OF the ONCE, pushing me rudely toward the
door, and nnaly called one of his attendants TO put
out was thus violently expelled from public Office,
where every citizen has right to heard and pro-
tected merely because respectfully insisted that the
Superintendent of Police should do his duty and
manifest decent regard for the public welfare
and his official oath, instead OF persstently
prostitutlng both to corrupt partiaity for an
unscrupulous subordinate Being thus unsuc-
Police Commissioners to whom preferred like charges,
being indisposed TO act owing to differences among
themselves, repeated these charges in argument
before the Legislature 1874 In response that
gument which also set forth long array Of other facts
In reference police rascalty the Senate appointed
committee of investigation which committee failed to
investigate, because OF change in the Board of Police
Commissioners, which, it was thought, might correct
the existing evils, but which ultimately brought
Matsell to the head of the department as
President of the Board, only to dsappoint
the hope OF police reform. pamphlet copy of the
argument upon which this committee was appointed,
and subsantiaed by my affidavit printed upon IT, was
also transmitted to said Matse after he became Police
Commissioner; but neither Superintendent
Commissioner did he take any action upon any of those
charges until recently when the camor of public alarm
|
would have been such alarm and occasion for the
expense of Committee Crime to reveal our danger
and disgrace, for there would have been possibility
! of the present infamous police Generalization
| SPECIFICATION 3-Ignorance and incompetence. An
old man, who has spent most of his life IN police SER
vice. and the best of 1t in publishing Police Gazette,
however perncous the character and tendency Of that
publication, and yet as Superintendent of Police sends
his officers to hunt for panel houses at midday Is at
best ignorant and innocent for the require
of police control and therefore necessarily in
competent to ill the first place on ''the finest police
| for in he 6 hat m
While he Superintendent newspaper reporter, be-
trayng my confidence, revealed TO him the names and
addresses of certain panel thieves known 10 to
| be operating in the Twenty ninth precinct short
time previous; and thereupon Matse, apparently not
| knowing that panel thieves frequently change their
quarters sent forth of his detectives in company
with this reporter and in the busy hours Of the day
when as every policeman knows panel houses are not
in operation and therefore not TO be detected, under
the pretence of suppressng these houses The thieves
thus kindly forewarned by this dumb show OF police
devotion suspended business temporarily the cunning
detectives and the reporter reported TO the
| simple-minded superintendent that there were nc
panel houses at the places had named and in short
time the panel business prospered again dehanty
ever.


Abram Disbecker lis wholly unfit for the Office he
holds Police Commissioner.


Specification 1-Rememberng the traditional supe-
rory Of young men in war, and already realizing that
the battle with police villany would be severe soon
after said Disbecker was appointed Police Commis-
made to Matsell and likewise presented TO him copy
of the same pamphlet containing my argument
before the Legislature and sworn to as before
stated particular to put all the facts before
Commissioner Dsbecker believing it to be his purpose
he had proclaimed il to be his ambition 10 do his
duty without fear favor. And he promised 10 at
tend to the matter II he kept that promise it
was by attending the interests of the offenders rather
than the rights of innocents and citizens


Specification 2-0n the FIRST day of the late trial OF
Captain Burden and long before the trial was con-
cluded, Commissioner Disbecker publicly declared
| that he would believe the principal witness,
Martinot, under oath. No man is fit to weigh testi-
| mony or Sit IN Judgment in any case who goes
Of court to destroy the character of the
before the concluded for witness discredited
is witness destroyed eectualy if dead or absent
Nobody understands this better than certain prominent
police officers and their confederates as infer from
their industry in assailing me, and am credi-
| bly, informed that Commissioner Disbecker has re-
peatedly initiated this poor example of bad lot Of the


best police forcen Il is incredible that either OF the
| Commissioners herein named is indispensable to ouI
police organization AL of which is respectfully sub
| mitted. DAVID j. TWoAEf.
| INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THIEVES AND POLICE
MEN TO BE STOPPED.


The full Board Of Police Commissioners met yester
day morning, President Matsell in the chair.
| communication was received from the Consul Gen
era of Italy Mr.. De Lucca acknowledging the prompt
| action of the department relative to the arresti Of
padrones having in their custody small Italian chI'
dren whom they compel to perform and beg Placed
on lle


| The Deputy Chief Clerk submitted notice that an
action for false Imprisonment against Captain Garland
and Patrolman Byron of the Eighteenth precinct had
been instituted in the Court of Common Pleas by Will
liam g. Barry On motion, the matter was referred to
| the Corporation Counsel


Commissioner Smith offered resolution that Patrol
man David Harvey of the Eighth precinct be dismissed
from the department, he having been found guilty
| of being in conversation with known thief


The resolution gave rise to a debate in which all the
Commissioners participated Messrs. Voorhis and Smith
being in favor OF its adoption and hcssrs Matse and
Disbecker opposed


The former took the ground that II having been the
custom of the department in the past to sanction
the purpose of obtaining valuable information leading
TO the of others of their class would be unfair
to visit the extreme penalty upon an officer thus
versng without FIRST giving general notice to the mem
bers of the force that 1t would no longer be permitted
They agreed that the custom pornicious and
in favor of infcting heavy fine upon the officer but
not favor Of dsmssing him under the existing
] nf