Deadliest Night for St. Louis Polícia

O incidente mais mortífero em St. História Louis Polícia não era um tiroteio, desastre natural ou ato de terrorismo. O incidente mais mortífero em St. História Louis polícia ocorreu na noite desta segunda-feira, Setembro 3, 1900. Electricity was the assailant as a power line with 3300 volts de eletricidade caiu sobre as linhas telefônicas, at Eight Street and Carr Avenue. The telephone lines connected almost all the policemen’s call boxes in the Downtown area.

70 policeman patrolling the Downtown District were potential victims as they made their way to the call boxes for their 7:00 p.m. check-ins. No final da noite, two policeman lay dead and thirteen others were seriously burned or suffered injuries from being thrown from the call boxes or the headquarters call center.

Antes da implementação do rádio bidirecional, policeman 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. Como os policiais começaram a fazer o seu caminho para as caixas de chamada, 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 many did not get the warning in time. Um jogador de linha, que responderam à sede da polícia, foi também mal chocado, when he tried to address the problem.

A maioria dos agentes de treze, que foram feridos, suffered burns to their hands or were knocked unconscious by the current. Um casal sofreu lesões nas articulações de ser lançada a partir das caixas de chamada. As queimaduras mais comuns foram para as mãos de inserir as chaves na caixa de chamada ou pôr em marcha o punho da caixa de atendimento.

Patrulheiro John F. Killoren colocou a chave na caixa de chamada no XV Street e Franklin Avenue e foi soprado de volta para a rua. Killoren cambaleou e tentou abrir a caixa de chamada novamente antes de espectadores poderia detê-lo. He was knocked back into the street again with serious burns to his hands.

Além dos policiais feridos, many transported to local hospitals by citizens, two officers lost their lives that night. A corrente jovem oficial morto, Nicholas F. Beckmann, e diretor 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 a caixa de ligação em Eighteenth Street entre Washington e Carr Avenue. Como Beckmann abriu a caixa de chamada, ele gritou e caiu para trás. Espectadores o levou para o Hospital protestante nas proximidades, onde ele nunca recuperou a consciência. O departamento teve de dar a notícia a sua mãe viúva, que vivia com Beckmann.

James Looney era um marido de 41 anos de idade e seu pai, que tinha estado em vigor desde a 1893. Looney ficou chocado ao tentar abrir a caixa de chamada em Twelfth Street e Morgan Avenue. He was taken to the dispensary but also never regained consciousness. Ele morreu 15 minutos após o choque inicial.

City Lighting officials determined the source of the shock to be the power line from the Seckner Contracting Company. De acordo com funcionários da cidade, the Seckner Company’s lines were supposed to be below ground 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.

Em 2006, o St. Louis Departamento de Polícia reconheceu que Michael P. Burke, who was one of the thirteen men shocked that night, died from the shock 15 meses mais tarde em December 13, 1901. It was one of the rare occasions that three St. Louis officers would lose their lives in the same incident. Os tiroteios departamento ficar muito mais cobertura, mas a noite mortal em St. História Louis Polícia era setembro 3, 1900, when electricity attacked an unsuspecting force doing their duty.

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