St. Louis Officer Killed by Wanted Man

The picture of Cornelius O’Keefe in the book, In The Line of Duty: St. Louis politifolk, der bragte det ultimative offer by Barbara Miksicek, David McElreath og major Stephen Pollihan, struck me the first time I saw it. Med hans hår skiltes ned i midten og en stor overskæg, I could see him walking the streets of Downtown St. Louis speaking to children in his Irish brogue.

Cornelius O’Keefe both looked and acted the part of the brave, strong policeman. He performed many legendary feats of daring during his career.

Several of his exploits were chronicled in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tirsdag, August 8, 1911. Før sin alt for tidlige død, O’Keefe had overpowered an armed maniac Downtown by dancing like a trained bear to amuse him. When he got close enough to the lunatic, he overpowered the man and took two guns from him.

In another case, a burglar tried to break into his boarding house at 1121 Mississippi Avenue. O’Keefe chased him down being shot in the hand in the process. Han havde nylig fundet en kvinde, der sprang fra et hotel og til sidst døde af sine kvæstelser.

Om natten mandag, August 7, 1911, O’Keefe was working the evening shift. Typically, he was looking for Remus Hawshaw, a man wanted for assault. O'Keefe stoppede i Weisman s Taylor Shop på Olive Street siden Choris Candy Store, 1308 Olive Street.

Weisman ansat flere afrikansk-amerikanere, herunder Hawshaw. Weisman stated he had not seen Hawshaw all day. Hawshaw would stop in at Weisman’s later that day. Mr. Weisman told Hawshaw to turn himself in.

Hawshaw gjorde slå sig selv i den næste morgen på 9:oo a.m. men på dette tidspunkt O'Keefe var død. Hawshaw snart ville være den hovedmistænkte.

O'Keefe ankom hans lettelse stilling ved fjortende og Olive Street på 10:50 p.m., som var for fem minutter for tidligt, så han besluttede at tjekke ind på Weisman er én mere tid.

På omkring 10:55 p.m, Den Choris familien, der ejede slikbutik hørte glas bryde i gyden, og flere geværskud. De gemte sig i ovenpå lejligheden for 15 til 20 minutter, før de følte sig sikker nok til at komme ned. På det tidspunkt, Sergent Meehan havde fundet O'Keefe liggende i gyden. O'Keefe kunne kun sige, at “en sort fik mig.”

O'Keefe gik ned ad gyden bag slikbutik, når en sort mand overraskede ham. They fought with O’Keefe trying to strike the assailant with his club. O’Keefe broke the glass, which the Chorises heard, by swinging his club at Hawshaw. Hawshaw was able to draw O’Keefe’s service revolver and shoot him. The shooting was at such close range O’Keefe had powder burns on his jacket. Hawshaw jakke senere skulle blive tilbagebetalt med en kugle hul i ærmet.

O'Keefe blev taget til byens hospital, hvor han døde i 5:35 a.m. om morgenen august 8, 1911. Police officers brought in a couple of African-Americans who were found in the area but O’Keefe shook his head each time indicating it was not the man. He had apparently lost his power of speech before his death. O'Keefe dødsattest, at et skudsår i brystet var hans dødsårsag.

Jeg har altid spekuleret over, hvorfor O'Keefe ikke sige, “Hawshaw fik mig.” It is possible he did not know him well or did not know who attacked him in the alley. Regardless, Hawshaw blev hovedmistænkt meget hurtigt. Hans alibi for tidspunktet for skyderiet var diskonteret af to associerede, der erklærede, at han ikke var på Red Rooster Club i løbet af aftenen.

Et andet vidne, der boede på tværs af alley fra skrædder shop, oplevede Hawshaw i gyden mindre end en time før mordet fandt sted. St. Police also found physical evidence such as Hawshaw’s coat with a powder burn on the sleeve.

Hawshaw was convicted of the crime but did not die in prison. Ifølge hans dødsattest, han døde oktober 27, 1931 i en alder af 42 fra pulmonal trombose. He was employed as a laborer and lived at 2340 Washington Boulevard. I do not know how long he served time in prison for O’Keefe’s murder.

O'Keefe var en 42 årig bachelor, der havde været på den kraft, da 1899. Hans dødsattest ikke nævne nogen pårørende. O'Keefe var en modig officer, der gav sit liv på at forsøge at pågribe en farlig kriminel. Desværre, his fate would be shared by many other officers in the 1910s and 1920s.

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