- 4 days ago
Wednesday, July 9, 1913
Three Officers Are Suspended for Ninety Days, and Two Exonerated and Their Pay for Lost Time Restored.
WOOD, BORN, FOLDS DISCHARGED BY BOARD
Mayor Intimated He Would Ask Charges Be Preferred Against Moon, Who Said He Drank to Secure Evidence.
The scandal in the police department which grew out of revelations that eight policemen visited the resort of Ola Bradley, a negress, at No. 129 Auburn street resulted in the dismissal of three, exoneration of two, and suspension of three for ninety days, by the police board, at 1:30 o'clock this morning.
The policemen discharged were Robert A. Wood, J. P. Born and E. C. Folds.
Patrolmen J. E. McDaniels and L. W. Evans, who were under charges for neglect of duty for failure to report the visits of their partners to the resort, were found not guilty and were restored to the ranks with pay for lost time during suspension.
Three Are Suspended.
The three who were suspended were Patrolmen R. T. David, J. J. Jackson and Roundsman Bailey.
Mayor James G. Woodward vigorously opposed the dismissal or suspension of any of the accused officers. "You can't believe a nigger against a white man, and that is just what this board will do if they find them guilty," he said.
A majority of the board were agreed that the testimony of the Cutwright woman, a young negress, was correct.
Mayor Woodward strongly intimated that he would demand that Chief Beavers bring charges against Plainclothes Officer Moon, who admitted that he drank whisky in the Bradley house to get evidence against the woman.
"I have not decided what I will do with Moon," Chief Beavers declared. "He was ordered by his superior officer to make an investigation and get the evidence. It looks to me like he was carrying out instructions."
Able Counsel Present.
The accused men were ably represented by Hon. J. Y. Smith, Colonel Harvey Hill, Aldine Chambers, William R. Smith and others.
The trials were, perhaps, the most sensational and salicious that have ever demanded the attention of the police department. Patrolmen Born, Folds, Wood, David, Jackson and Roundsman Bailey were charged with visiting the house—specifically that they drank whisky with the inmates on June 24. Evans and McDaniel were charged with failing to report the visits of their partners to the chief.
The chief witnesses against the accused officers were Plainclothes Officers Moon and Adams.
Patrolman E. E. Jackson, charged by Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Smith with abusive treatment in the Bijou theater June 24, was exonerated.
Many Visits to House.
H. T. Adams, patrolman doing duty as a member of Chief Beavers' "vice squad," who exposed the alleged police rendezvous at the house of Ola Bradley, No 127 Auburn Avenue, told the board of seeing many men and women go into the Bradley house. Adams said he saw a negro woman pour whisky out of a jar for a white man who offered to pay for it.
Three Officers Are Suspended for Ninety Days, and Two Exonerated and Their Pay for Lost Time Restored.
WOOD, BORN, FOLDS DISCHARGED BY BOARD
Mayor Intimated He Would Ask Charges Be Preferred Against Moon, Who Said He Drank to Secure Evidence.
The scandal in the police department which grew out of revelations that eight policemen visited the resort of Ola Bradley, a negress, at No. 129 Auburn street resulted in the dismissal of three, exoneration of two, and suspension of three for ninety days, by the police board, at 1:30 o'clock this morning.
The policemen discharged were Robert A. Wood, J. P. Born and E. C. Folds.
Patrolmen J. E. McDaniels and L. W. Evans, who were under charges for neglect of duty for failure to report the visits of their partners to the resort, were found not guilty and were restored to the ranks with pay for lost time during suspension.
Three Are Suspended.
The three who were suspended were Patrolmen R. T. David, J. J. Jackson and Roundsman Bailey.
Mayor James G. Woodward vigorously opposed the dismissal or suspension of any of the accused officers. "You can't believe a nigger against a white man, and that is just what this board will do if they find them guilty," he said.
A majority of the board were agreed that the testimony of the Cutwright woman, a young negress, was correct.
Mayor Woodward strongly intimated that he would demand that Chief Beavers bring charges against Plainclothes Officer Moon, who admitted that he drank whisky in the Bradley house to get evidence against the woman.
"I have not decided what I will do with Moon," Chief Beavers declared. "He was ordered by his superior officer to make an investigation and get the evidence. It looks to me like he was carrying out instructions."
Able Counsel Present.
The accused men were ably represented by Hon. J. Y. Smith, Colonel Harvey Hill, Aldine Chambers, William R. Smith and others.
The trials were, perhaps, the most sensational and salicious that have ever demanded the attention of the police department. Patrolmen Born, Folds, Wood, David, Jackson and Roundsman Bailey were charged with visiting the house—specifically that they drank whisky with the inmates on June 24. Evans and McDaniel were charged with failing to report the visits of their partners to the chief.
The chief witnesses against the accused officers were Plainclothes Officers Moon and Adams.
Patrolman E. E. Jackson, charged by Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Smith with abusive treatment in the Bijou theater June 24, was exonerated.
Many Visits to House.
H. T. Adams, patrolman doing duty as a member of Chief Beavers' "vice squad," who exposed the alleged police rendezvous at the house of Ola Bradley, No 127 Auburn Avenue, told the board of seeing many men and women go into the Bradley house. Adams said he saw a negro woman pour whisky out of a jar for a white man who offered to pay for it.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Caught drinking, three policemen fired off force. The Atlanta Constitution, Wednesday, July 9th,
00:051913. Three officers are suspended for 90 days, and two exonerated and their pay for lost time
00:11restored. Wood, born, folds discharged by board mayor, intimated, he would ask charges be preferred
00:17against Moon, who said he drank to secure evidence. The scandal in the police department,
00:22which grew out of revelations that eight policemen visited the resort of Ola Bradley,
00:26a negress at No. 129 Auburn Street resulted in the dismissal of three, exoneration of two,
00:32and suspension of three for 90 days by the police board at 1.30 o'clock this morning.
00:38The policemen discharged were Robert A. Wood, J.P. Bourne, and E.C. Folds. Patrolmen G.E. McDaniels
00:45and L.W. Evans, who were under charges for neglect of duty for failure to report the visits of their
00:50partners to the resort, were found not guilty and were restored to the ranks with pay for lost time
00:56during suspension. Three are suspended. The three who were suspended were patrolmen R.T. David,
01:01J.J. Jackson, and Roundsman Bailey. Mayor James G. Woodward vigorously opposed the dismissal or
01:07suspension of any of the accused officers.
01:09You can't believe a nigger against a white man, and that is just what this board will do if they
01:14find
01:14them guilty, he said. A majority of the board were agreed that the testimony of the cutright woman,
01:20a young negress, was correct. Mayor Woodward strongly intimated that he would demand that
01:25Chief Beavers bring charges against plainclothes officer Moon, who admitted that he drank whiskey
01:30in the Bradley house to get evidence against the woman. I have not decided what I will do with Moon,
01:36Chief Beavers declared. He was ordered by his superior officer to make an investigation and get the
01:41evidence. It looks to me like he was carrying out instructions. Able counsel present. The accused
01:48men were ably represented by Honorable J.Y. Smith, Colonel Harvey Hill, Aldine Chambers, William R.
01:54Smith, and others. The trials were perhaps the most sensational and salacious that have ever demanded the
01:59attention of the police department. Patrolmen Bourne, Folds, Wood, David, Jackson, and Roundsman Bailey were
02:06charged with visiting the house specifically that they drank whiskey with the inmates on June 24th.
02:11Evans and McDaniel were charged with failing to report the visits of their partners to the chief.
02:16The chief witnesses against the accused officers were plainclothes officers Moon and Adams.
02:22Patrolman E.E. Jackson, charged by Mr. and Mrs. L.M. Smith with abusive treatment in the Bijou Theater
02:27June 24th, was exonerated. Many visits to House, H.T. Adams, patrolmen doing duty as a member of Chief
02:35Beaver's vice squad, who exposed the alleged police rendezvous at the house of Ola Bradley,
02:41no 127 Auburn Avenue, told the board of seeing many men and women go into the Bradley house.
02:47Adams said he saw a Negro woman pour whiskey out of a jar for a white man who offered to
02:51pay for it.
02:52On the night of the 27th, Adams testified, we saw Sergeant Bailey and Patrolman Wood in the house.
02:57A Negro woman poured whiskey out of a continued on page 2. Three policemen fired off force continued
03:04from page 1. Jug. I saw the officers with the whiskey in their hands but did not see either
03:09of them drink. Did you see Policeman Evans there at any time? Councilman Colcourt asked.
03:15No, sir, Adams replied. Patrolman David, who is under charges for failure to report visits made by Evans,
03:21Bailey and others to the Bradley house, said that he went through the house several times to see if the
03:25house was orderly, never saw Evans drink. Did you ever see Evans drink whiskey in there?
03:31He was asked. No, sir, he replied. Did you ever report the house as being a suspicious place?
03:36No, sir. Ever see whiskey bottles strewn about the place? No, sir. You can find whiskey bottles
03:42in almost every house since Prohibition went into effect, David replied. Plain clothes.
03:48Officer Moon, also a member of the vice squad who was detailed by Chief Beavers to watch the Bradley
03:52house, testified that the instructions he received were to watch the house and catch whoever went
03:57there. He saw Sergeant Bailey and Wood drinking in the house, he said. Moon told the board that he
04:03never saw Evans in the house. Did you ever take a drink there? Commissioner Johnson asked. Yes,
04:09he answered. Were you instructed to drink? We were told to get the evidence. How big a drink did you
04:14take? Just ordinary drink. Oh, just an ordinary drink. About four fingers? Not that much. Who gave you
04:21orders? What sergeant told you to get the evidence? Sergeant Barfield. Mayor Woodward asked Moon if he
04:26could not tell it was whiskey without taking a big drink. The policeman shied at the question.
04:31The board excused the witness. Patrolman Evans denied that he ever drank at the Bradley house,
04:36or that he knew of other officers who visited or drunk there. In order to save time, Chairman Mason
04:42suggests that the charges against R.T. David, Sergeant C.H. Bailey, J.J. Jackson, J.P. Bourne,
04:48and M.C. Folds, accused by Moon and Adams of having drank whiskey at the Bradley house,
04:53be consolidated, and the accused tried together. Patrolman J. McDaniel, beat partner with Jackson,
04:59was charged with failure to report Jackson's visit to the alleged resort.
05:03Plainclothes Officer Moon, first witness called, testified that he saw David, Bailey, and Wood
05:08enter the house about midnight, poured out of bottle. David entered the house first. I saw a Negro
05:14girl pour something out of a jug and hand something in a glass to David. About that time, Ola Bradley
05:19came in and the girl poured something out of the jug for them. Was Wood on duty at the time?
05:24Asked
05:24Councilman Colcord. No, he had just gotten off, replied Chief Beavers. Was Bailey on duty? I don't
05:30know, Moon replied. Attorney William M. Smith, representing Patrolman Wood, asked the board to
05:36accept the resignation of Wood, explaining that Wood had left for Houston, Texas to engage in business.
05:41Moon made the statement, when questioned by Attorney Smith, that he took an insurance man to the Bradley
05:46house one night and bought booze from the woman, fired from one job. Attorney J.Y. Smith, representing
05:53Patrolman David, brought from Moon the admission that he was fired by the Georgia Railway and Power
05:58Company. Were you fired for being drunk? He was asked. No, sir. What were you fired for? For not
06:04reporting a motor man. Adams recalled telling the board that he saw Bailey and Wood drinking in the
06:10house. He did not see Evans or David in the house drinking. He could not tell whether it was whiskey
06:15or water Bailey and Wood drank. You had an altercation with a newspaper man, did you not?
06:21Asked Attorney Smith. Wasn't Sergeant Bailey the man who made the case against you? Yes, but I have
06:27no ill will against Sergeant Bailey, he said. The newspaper man Adams had the altercation with Britt
06:32Craig, police reporter for the Constitution, who knocked Adams down for insinuating that Craig had not
06:38told the truth about him. Judge Broyles later substantiated what the reporter wrote. Adams was
06:44fined. Directed investigation. Captain W.F. Terry, who directed the investigation of the Bradley house,
06:51told the board that during the absence of Chief Beavers at the Washington Convention,
06:55Sergeant Barfield reported to him that Ola Bradley was conducting a blind tiger. He said he directed the
07:01officer to make an investigation. Captain Terry told of the various reports which involved policemen in
07:07drinking bouts with the woman. Attorney Smith asked Captain Lamar Poole if he knew of any officers
07:12other than the men under charges who drank at the house. Captain Poole said he never heard of any
07:17others. Sergeant Barfield testified that one night in June he saw Patrolman Jackson in the house.
07:22There was gambling going on in one of the rooms upstairs, he said. I asked Jackson if he knew there
07:27was gambling in the house. He said he did not. He explained that he was in the house looking for
07:32a
07:32girl. Did you see Jackson drinking in the house? No, sir. Al Matthews, who conducts a furniture store
07:38on Auburn Avenue near the Bradley house, said that he saw policemen going into the house frequently.
07:44Carrie Mae Cutright testified that she drank whiskey, which was paid for by Officer Folds.
07:49She told of a near fight between Folds and another officer she did not know because one called the
07:54other a liar. She lost ring. The Negress said Folds put a ring on her finger and that she lost
08:00it.
08:00Folds assured her that it was all right about the loss of the ring, she said. The girl said Moon
08:05visited the house and she related a disgusting story of his actions while he was in the house.
08:10She said when Moon left the house he was drunk. He wanted me to be his girl, she said, referring
08:16to
08:16Moon. Attorney Harvey Hill, who appeared for policemen Folds, put the girl through a rigid
08:21examination in an effort to prove that she was persuaded by Moon to testify that Folds gave her the
08:27ring. Attorney Hill complained that the charges were not specific. He referred to them as bobtail
08:32charges. Captain Poole heatedly informed Colonel Hill that he had taken the statement and was ready
08:38to testify. Before leaving the stand, the girl was asked to pick out Moon from the crowd in the
08:42courtroom. First she pointed out Sergeant Barfield, but when she faced Moon she pointed him out.
08:48Negro stopped fight. Claude Gray, a Negro boarder at the house of Ola Bradley, told the commissioners
08:55that he separated Patrolman Folds and Bourne when they started to fight in the house. He said that
09:00it was his belief that Bourne called Folds a liar. He did not know what caused the quarrel. Ola Bradley,
09:06the star witness against the police, explained the presence of the police at her home by telling the
09:10board that she invited policemen Bailey and Wood to come to her house to see the niggers dance.
09:16Ola denied that she ever sold whiskey to any policeman. She admitted, however, that she never objected
09:21when a policeman helped himself to a drink. Did Jackson ever take anything at your house?
09:26Yes, he took two bottles of beer from the ice box. Did he drink it? No. Did he pay for
09:32it? No, sir.
09:33Testifying as to the bottle, Moon and Adam said they saw Bailey and Wood drinking from. The Bradley
09:38woman said it contained water. Patrolman McDaniel denied that he saw Jackson take a drink in the house.
09:44He admitted that he reported to Sergeant Fane that he thought Jackson was drinking and that he thought it
09:48would be well to change his beat. Sergeant Fane corroborated McDaniel's statement. He testified
09:53that he considered Jackson a capable and efficient officer. Said Moon was drunk. Newton Standick,
09:59inspector and division superintendent Roberson of the Georgia Railway and Power Company testified
10:04that Moon had been discharged from the service because he was drunk too drunk to operate a street
10:08car. Moon recalled, denied that he had been discharged for drinking. Chief Beavers made a brief
10:13statement at the investigation started while he was in Washington.
Comments