Deadliest Night for St. Louis Police

The deadliest incident in St. Louis Police history was not a shootout, natural disaster or act of terrorism. The deadliest incident in St. Louis Police history occurred on the night of Monday, September 3, 1900. El var angriparen som en kraftledning med 3300 volts of electricity fell onto the telephone lines, at Eight Street and Carr Avenue. Telefonlinjerna kopplade ihop nästan alla polisernas telefonlådor i Downtown-området.

70 polisman som patrullerar i Downtown District var potentiella offer när de tog sig till telefonlådorna för sina 7:00 p.m. check-ins. By the end of the night, två poliser låg döda och tretton andra brändes allvarligt eller fick skador av att ha kastats från larmboxarna eller huvudkontorets larmcentral.

Before the implementation of the two-way radio, polisen ringde in på telefonboxen varje timme, så stationen visste att de var okej. Callboxen var också det primära sättet att ringa efter en transport efter att ha gripit någon. As the policemen began to make their way to the call boxes, den elektriska strömmen slog en operatör mot väggen i huvudkontorets callcenter. 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. A lineman, who responded to police headquarters, was also badly shocked, när han försökte lösa problemet.

Most of the thirteen officers, who were injured, fick brännskador på händerna eller slogs medvetslös av strömmen. A couple suffered joint injuries from being thrown from the call boxes. The most common burn injuries were to the hands from inserting keys into the call box or cranking the call box handle.

Patrolman John F. Killoren inserted his key into the call box at Fifteenth Street and Franklin Avenue and was blown back into the street. Killoren staggered to his feet and tried to open the call box again before bystanders could stop him. Han slogs tillbaka på gatan igen med allvarliga brännskador på händerna.

In addition to the injured officers, många transporterades till lokala sjukhus av medborgare, två poliser miste livet den natten. The current killed young officer, Nicholas F. Beckmann, and veteran officer, 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 used the call box on Eighteenth Street between Washington and Carr Avenue. As Beckmann opened the call box, he screamed and fell backward. Bystanders took him to the nearby Protestant Hospital, where he never regained consciousness. The department had to break the news to his widowed mother, who lived with Beckmann.

James Looney was a 41-year-old husband and father, som hade varit i kraft sedan 1893. Looney was shocked trying to open the call box at Twelfth Street and Morgan Avenue. Han fördes till apoteket men återfick heller aldrig medvetandet. Han dog 15 minutes after the initial shock.

City Lighting-tjänstemän fastställde att källan till chocken var kraftledningen från Seckner Contracting Company. According to city officials, the Seckner Company’s lines were supposed to be below ground but the company received a waiver from the Board of Public Improvements. Tjänstemännen skar ner de ansvariga linjerna och sa till Seckner att begrava linjerna.

I 2006, St. Louis Police Department recognized that Michael P. Burke, who was one of the thirteen men shocked that night, dog av chocken 15 months later on December 13, 1901. Det var ett av de sällsynta tillfällena som tre St. Louis officers would lose their lives in the same incident. The department shootouts get much more coverage but the deadliest night in St. Louis Police history was September 3, 1900, när elektricitet attackerade en intet ont anande styrka som gjorde sin plikt.

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