+SHOT AN OFFICER+
The bloodiest week which New Orleans has known since the massacre of the
Italians in 1892 was ushered in Monday, July 24, by the inexcusable and
unprovoked assault upon two colored men by police officers of New Orleans.
Fortified by the assurance born of long experience in the New Orleans
service, three policemen, Sergeant Aucoin, Officer Mora and Officer
Cantrelle, observing two colored men sitting on doorsteps on Dryades
street, between Washington Avenue and 6th Streets, determined, without a
shadow of authority, to arrest them. One of the colored men was named
Robert Charles, the other was a lad of nineteen named Leonard Pierce. The
colored men had left their homes, a few blocks distant, about an hour
prior, and had been sitting upon the doorsteps for a short time talking
together. They had not broken the peace in any way whatever, no warrant
was in the policemen's hands justifying their arrest, and no crime had
been committed of which they were the suspects. The policemen, however,
secure in the firm belief that they could do anything to a Negro that they
wished, approached the two men, and in less than three minutes from the
time they accosted them attempted to put both colored men under arrest.
The younger of the two men, Pierce, submitted to arrest, for the officer,
Cantrelle, who accosted him, put his gun in the young man's face ready to
blow his brains out if he moved. The other colored man, Charles, was made
the victim of a savage attack by Officer Mora, who used a billet and then
drew a gun and tried to kill Charles. Charles drew his gun nearly as
quickly as the policeman, and began a duel in the street, in which both
participants were shot. The policeman got the worst of the duel, and fell
helpless to the sidewalk. Charles made his escape. Cantrelle took Pierce,
his captive, to the police station, to which place Mora, the wounded
officer, was also taken, and a man hunt at once instituted for Charles,
the wounded fugitive.
In any law-abiding community Charles would have been justified in
delivering himself up immediately to the properly constituted authorities
and asking a trial by a jury of his peers. He could have been certain that
in resisting an unwarranted arrest he had a right to defend his life, even
to the point of taking one in that defense, but Charles knew that his
arrest in New Orleans, even for defending his life, meant nothing short of
a long term in the penitentiary, and still more probable death by lynching
at the hands of a cowardly mob. He very bravely determined to protect his
life as long as he had breath in his body and strength to draw a hair
trigger on his would-be murderers. How well he was justified in that
belief is well shown by the newspaper accounts which were given of this
transaction. Without a single line of evidence to justify the assertion,
the New Orleans daily papers at once declared that both Pierce and Charles
were desperadoes, that they were contemplating a burglary and that they
began the assault upon the policemen. It is interesting to note how the
two leading papers of New Orleans, the _Picayune_ and the
_Times-Democrat_, exert themselves to justify the policemen in the
absolutely unprovoked attack upon the two colored men. As these two papers
did all in their power to give an excuse for the action of the policemen,
it is interesting to note their versions. The _Times-Democrat_ of Tuesday
morning, the twenty-fifth, says:
Two blacks, who are desperate men, and no doubt will be proven burglars,
made it interesting and dangerous for three bluecoats on Dryades street,
between Washington Avenue and Sixth Street, the Negroes using pistols
first and dropping Patrolman Mora. But the desperate darkies did not go
free, for the taller of the two, Robinson, is badly wounded and under
cover, while Leonard Pierce is in jail.
For a long time that particular neighborhood has been troubled with bad
Negroes, and the neighbors were complaining to the Sixth Precinct police
about them. But of late Pierce and Robinson had been camping on a door
step on the street, and the people regarded their actions as suspicious.
It got to such a point that some of the residents were afraid to go to
bed, and last night this was told Sergeant Aucoin, who was rounding up
his men. He had just picked up Officers Mora and Cantrell, on Washington
Avenue and Dryades Street, and catching a glimpse of the blacks on the
steps, he said he would go over and warn the men to get away from the
street. So the patrolmen followed, and Sergeant Aucoin asked the smaller
fellow, Pierce, if he lived there. The answer was short and impertinent,
the black saying he did not, and with that both Pierce and Robinson drew
up to their full height.
For the moment the sergeant did not think that the Negroes meant fight,
and he was on the point of ordering them away when Robinson slipped his
pistol from his pocket. Pierce had his revolver out, too, and he fired
twice, point blank at the sergeant, and just then Robinson began
shooting at the patrolmen. In a second or so the policemen and blacks
were fighting with their revolvers, the sergeant having a duel with
Pierce, while Cantrell and Mora drew their line of fire on Robinson, who
was working his revolver for all he was worth. One of his shots took
Mora in the right hip, another caught his index finger on the right
hand, and a third struck the small finger of the left hand. Poor Mora
was done for; he could not fight any more, but Cantrell kept up his
fire, being answered by the big black. Pierce's revolver broke down, the
cartridges snapping, and he threw up his hands, begging for quarter.
The sergeant lowered his pistol and some citizens ran over to where the
shooting was going on. One of the bullets that went at Robinson caught
him in the breast and he began running, turning out Sixth Street, with
Cantrell behind him, shooting every few steps. He was loading his
revolver again, but did not use it after the start he took, and in a
little while Officer Cantrell lost the man in the darkness.
Pierce was made a prisoner and hurried to the Sixth Precinct police
station, where he was charged with shooting and wounding. The sergeant
sent for an ambulance, and Mora was taken to the hospital, the wound in
the hip being serious.
A search was made for Robinson, but he could not be found, and even at 2
o'clock this morning Captain Day, with Sergeant Aucoin and Corporals
Perrier and Trenchard, with a good squad of men, were beating the weeds
for the black.
The _New Orleans Picayune_ of the same date described the occurrence, and
from its account one would think it was an entirely different affair. Both
of the two accounts cannot be true, and the unquestioned fact is that
neither of them sets out the facts as they occurred. Both accounts attempt
to fix the beginning of hostilities upon the colored men, but both were
compelled to admit that the colored men were sitting on the doorsteps
quietly conversing with one another when the three policemen went up and
accosted them. The _Times-Democrat_ unguardedly states that one of the two
colored men tried to run away; that Mora seized him and then drew his
billy and struck him on the head; that Charles broke away from him and
started to run, after which the shooting began. The _Picayune_, however,
declares that Pierce began the firing and that his two shots point blank
at Aucoin were the first shots of the fight. As a matter of fact, Pierce
never fired a single shot before he was covered by Aucoin's revolver.
Charles and the officers did all the shooting. The _Picayune_'s account is
as follows:
Patrolman Mora was shot in the right hip and dangerously wounded last
night at 11:30 o'clock in Dryades Street, between Washington and Sixth,
by two Negroes, who were sitting on a door step in the neighborhood.
The shooting of Patrolman Mora brings to memory the fact that he was one
of the partners of Patrolman Trimp, who was shot by a Negro soldier of
the United States government during the progress of the Spanish-American
war. The shooting of Mora by the Negro last night is a very simple
story. At the hour mentioned, three Negro women noticed two suspicious
men sitting on a door step in the above locality. The women saw the two
men making an apparent inspection of the building. As they told the
story, they saw the men look over the fence and examine the window
blinds, and they paid particular attention to the make-up of the
building, which was a two-story affair. About that time Sergeant J.C.
Aucoin and Officers Mora and J.D. Cantrell hove in sight. The women
hailed them and described to them the suspicious actions of the two
Negroes, who were still sitting on the step. The trio of bluecoats, on
hearing the facts, at once crossed the street and accosted the men. The
latter answered that they were waiting for a friend whom they were
expecting. Not satisfied with this answer, the sergeant asked them where
they lived, and they replied "down town," but could not designate the
locality. To other questions put by the officers the larger of the two
Negroes replied that they had been in town just three days.
As this reply was made, the larger man sprang to his feet, and Patrolman
Mora, seeing that he was about to run away, seized him. The Negro took a
firm hold on the officer, and a scuffle ensued. Mora, noting that he was
not being assisted by his brother officers, drew his billy and struck
the Negro on the head. The blow had but little effect upon the man, for
he broke away and started down the street. When about ten feet away, the
Negro drew his revolver and opened fire on the officer, firing three or
four shots. The third shot struck Mora in the right hip, and was
subsequently found to have taken an upward course. Although badly
wounded, Mora drew his pistol and returned the fire. At his third shot
the Negro was noticed to stagger, but he did not fall. He continued his
flight. At this moment Sergeant Aucoin seized the other Negro, who
proved to be a youth, Leon Pierce. As soon as Officer Mora was shot he
sank to the sidewalk, and the other officer ran to the nearest
telephone, and sent in a call for the ambulance. Upon its arrival the
wounded officer was placed in it and conveyed to the hospital. An
examination by the house surgeon revealed the fact that the bullet had
taken an upward course. In the opinion of the surgeon the wound was a
dangerous one.
But the best proof of the fact that the officers accosted the two colored
men and without any warrant or other justification attempted to arrest
them, and did actually seize and begin to club one of them, is shown by
Officer Mora's own statement. The officer was wounded and had every reason
in the world to make his side of the story as good as possible. His
statement was made to a _Picayune_ reporter and the same was published on
the twenty-fifth inst., and is as follows:
I was in the neighborhood of Dryades and Washington Streets, with
Sergeant Aucoin and Officer Cantrell, when three Negro women came up and
told us that there were two suspicious-looking Negroes sitting on a step
on Dryades Street, between Washington and Sixth. We went to the place
indicated and found two Negroes. We interrogated them as to who they
were, what they were doing and how long they had been here. They replied
that they were working for some one and had been in town three days. At
about this stage the larger of the two Negroes got up and I grabbed him.
The Negro pulled, but I held fast, and he finally pulled me into the
street. Here I began using my billet, and the Negro jerked from my grasp
and ran. He then pulled a gun and fired. I pulled my gun and returned
the fire, each of us firing about three shots. I saw the Negro stumble
several times, and I thought I had shot him, but he ran away and I don't
know whether any of my shots took effect. Sergeant Aucoin in the
meantime held the other man fast. The man was about ten feet from me
when he fired, and the three Negresses who told us about the men stood
away about twenty-five feet from the shooting.
Thus far in the proceeding the Monday night episode results in Officer
Mora lying in the station wounded in the hip; Leonard Pierce, one of the
colored men, locked up in the station, and Robert Charles, the other
colored man, a fugitive, wounded in the leg and sought for by the entire
police force of New Orleans. Not sought for, however, to be placed under
arrest and given a fair trial and punished if found guilty according to
the law of the land, but sought for by a host of enraged, vindictive and
fearless officers, who were coolly ordered to kill him on sight. This
order is shown by the _Picayune_ of the twenty-sixth inst., in which the
following statement appears:
In talking to the sergeant about the case, the captain asked about the
Negro's fighting ability, and the sergeant answered that Charles, though
he called him Robinson then, was a desperate man, and it would be best
to shoot him before he was given a chance to draw his pistol upon any of
the officers.
This instruction was given before anybody had been killed, and the only
evidence that Charles was a desperate man lay in the fact that he had
refused to be beaten over the head by Officer Mora for sitting on a step
quietly conversing with a friend. Charles resisted an absolutely unlawful
attack, and a gun fight followed. Both Mora and Charles were shot, but
because Mora was white and Charles was black, Charles was at once declared
to be a desperado, made an outlaw, and subsequently a price put upon his
head and the mob authorized to shoot him like a dog, on sight.
The New Orleans _Picayune_ of Wednesday morning said:
But he has gone, perhaps to the swamps, and the disappointment of the
bluecoats in not getting the murderer is expressed in their curses, each
man swearing that the signal to halt that will be offered Charles will
be a shot.
In that same column of the _Picayune_ it was said:
Hundreds of policemen were about; each corner was guarded by a squad,
commanded either by a sergeant or a corporal, and every man had the word
to shoot the Negro as soon as he was sighted. He was a desperate black
and would be given no chance to take more life.
Legal sanction was given to the mob or any man of the mob to kill Charles
at sight by the Mayor of New Orleans, who publicly proclaimed a reward of
two hundred and fifty dollars, not for the arrest of Charles, not at all,
but the reward was offered for Charles's body, "dead or alive." The
advertisement was as follows:
+$250 REWARD+
Under the authority vested in me by law, I hereby offer, in the name of
the city of New Orleans, $250 reward for the capture and delivery, dead
or alive, to the authorities of the city, the body of the Negro
murderer,
+ROBERT CHARLES+,
who, on Tuesday morning, July 24, shot and killed