Deadliest Night for St. Louis Policía

O incidente máis mortífero en St. Historia Louis Policía non era un tiroteo, natural disaster, or act of terrorism. O incidente máis mortífero en St. Historia Louis policía tivo lugar na noite deste luns, Setembro 3, 1900. Electricity was the assailant as a power line with 3300 voltios de electricidade caeu sobre as liñas telefónicas, at Eight Rúa e Carr Avenue. The telephone lines connected all the policemen’s call boxes in the Downtown area.

Seventy police officers patrolling the Downtown District were potential victims as they made their way to the call boxes for their 7:00 p.m. check-ins. Ao final da noite, two police officers lay dead, and electricity seriously burned thirteen other officers. The current also injured officers by throwing the officers from the call boxes or the headquarters call center.

Antes da implantación da radio bidireccional, police officer called in on the call box every hour, so the station knew they were okay. The call box was also the primary way to call for a transport after arresting someone. As the police officers began to make their way to the call boxes, the electric current knocked an operator against the wall in the headquarters call center.

St. Louis Police command personnel sent out messengers to warn the officers about the potential threat, but too many officers did not get the warning in time. Un xogador de liña, que responderon á sede da policía, foi tamén mal impresionado, when he tried to address the problem.

The thirteen injured officers suffered burns to their hands, or the current knocked them unconscious. The current threw a handful of officers from the call box leading to joint injuries. As queimaduras máis comúns foron para as mans de introducir chaves no cadro de chamada ou poñer en marcha o puño da caixa de atención.

Patrol Officer John F. Killoren inserted his key into the call box at Fifteenth Street and Franklin Avenue and the electric current through Killoren into the street. Killoren cambaleou e intentou abrir a caixa de chamada de novo antes de espectadores podería detelo. The current knocked Killoren back into the street again with serious burns to his hands.

Ademais dos policías feridos, who citizens transported to the hospital, two officers lost their lives that night. A cadea mozo oficial morto, Nicholas F. Beckmann, e oficial veterano, John P. Looney.

Beckmann was a twenty-six-year-old police officer and veteran of the Spanish-American War. Beckman fought at the battle of San Juan Hill, which made Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders famous.

Beckman usado caixa de chamada en Eighteenth Street entre Washington e Carr Avenue. Como Beckmann abriu a caixa de chamada, el gritou e caeu cara atrás. Transeúntes o levou ao Hospital protestante nas proximidades, onde nunca recuperou a consciencia. O departamento tivo que dar a noticia para a súa nai viúva, que vivía con Beckmann.

James Looney era un home de 41 anos de idade eo seu pai, que estivera en vigor desde a 1893. The electrical current shocked Looney as he tried to open the call box at Twelfth Street and Morgan Avenue. Citizens carried Looney to the dispensary, but he never regained consciousness. Looney died 15 minutes after the first shock.

City Lighting officials determined the source of the shock to be the power line from the Seckner Contracting Company. Segundo as autoridades da cidade, the Seckner Company’s was supposed to bury their wires, but the company received a waiver from the Board of Public Improvements. The officials cut down the responsible lines and told Seckner to bury the lines after repairing them.

En 2006, o St. Louis Departamento de Policía recoñeceu que Michael P. Burke, que foi un dos trece homes chocou aquela noite, died from the shock 15 months later, Decembro 13, 1901. It was one of the rare occasions that three St. Louis officers would lose their lives in the same incident. The department shootouts get more coverage but the deadliest night in St. Historia Louis Policía foi setembro 3, 1900, when electricity attacked an unsuspecting force doing their duty.

Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Setembro 4, 1900, p. 1

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