Two Ruffians Beat Officer

On Thursday, September 9, 1875, George “Mitchell” Gassert and William Salisbury went to Fred Fisher’s Saloon at the corner of N. Jefferson and Morgan (Delmar today). After ordering drinks, the two young men of unsavory reputation refused to pay for their drinks. After trying to illicit payment, Fisher summoned St. Louis Police Officer John Cummings.

Officer Cummings, assigned to the Third District, patiently listened to all parties. After getting all three men’s accounts, Cummings advised Gassert and Salisbury to pay for the drinks they ordered. After the men refused, Cummings put both men under arrest.

Gassert and Salisbury began resisting arrest, so Cummings grabbed Salisbury and drug him out the side door to the street. While Cummings tied up with Salisbury, Gassert struck Cummings on the side of the head with a heavy hickory club. As Cummings fell to the ground, Gassert and Salisbury punched him on the ground before fleeing the area.

Initially, Cummings did not think his assailants had seriously injured him. Fisher’s patrons helped Cummings back into the saloon, where Cummings cleaned the blood from his face. Fisher summoned Dr. McMasters to examine Cummings.

Despite Cummings’ belief that he was fine, Dr. McMasters said the men fractured Cummings’ skull. However, Dr. McMasters told Cummings he was leaving on a trip the following day, so Dr. McMasters could not bandage his wounds. Dr. McMasters displayed a shocking lack of professionalism.

The patrons started to help Cummings home, but he could only make it to his friends’ home at 2607 Lucas Avenue. Officer and Mrs. Malloy lived at the Lucas Avenue residence. After he rested for a while, Cummings returned to his home at 1508 Fallon Street by horse-drawn carriage. Mrs. Cummings cared for Officer Cummings, who died at 5:30 am on Friday, September 10, 1875. The 38-year-old St. Louis Police Officer was survived by his wife. All four of their children died in childhood.

Witnesses saw Gassert and Salisbury in the neighborhood around Morgan and N. Jefferson Avenues. Gassert bragged about hitting Cummings and said, “We out to kill him.”  During their flight, they mistakenly believed people at a boarding house were laughing at them. The desperadoes beat one man and threw rocks at others.

St. Louis Police knew the men spent time together at Atkin’s stable. When two detectives approached the stable, a man named Ike Beck warned Gassert and Salisbury that the police were coming for them. Gassert jumped out the window and escaped but the officers caught Salisbury.

Within the next couple of weeks, St. Louis Police also captured George Gassert. Prosecutors tried both men for Cummings murder, but the jury only convicted the club swinging Gassert of the murder. The court sentenced Gassert to 10 years in prison for 2nd Degree Murder.

Cummings was a Confederate Army soldier during the Civil War. He joined the St. Louis Police Department in 1873, quit in 1875 but came back on the force two months before his murder. Cummings supervisor considered him a most efficient officer.

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Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri Penitentiary Database and Missouri Coroner’s Database

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