Minutes 08/23/1949 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the orderly city that we succeeded iD havin~ during the trying years of the War. Today, Portsmouth has two large wards which~w ere annexed during tenure in office. The number of P~olice officers to service the City are not much greater than they were when I first took office~ In 1~$4~ the Department had one Chief, t~ree Captains, two Lieutenan~ts and fou~ Serge~ts. Today, Lt has one Chief, two Inspectors, two Captains, three Lieutenants and fou~ Sergeants~. Each o f the line officers have had a promotion under my regime as Chief of Police. It is my firm belief that ~he arraugement~ under which I now serve should continue. However, if you feel that I should elect, in accepting the Chief of Police as a permanent position or Captaincy as a permanent position, then i would prefer ret_rement. The reason is apparent. I spent ~7 years of my life as a member of the Police Department in one capacity or another. I have reached an age where a position wo~2d be hard to find, espe- cially one with which I am familiar, i would prefer that I be not required to elect and that I be permitted to continue to serve under the same arrangement as now exists as Chief. If yo~ can not see your way clear to do this, then I would prefer retirement. U~der no condition would I care to leave thedepartment except by retirement. As you probably know, I am not physically fit to serve as Captain~ I have received many injuries in line of duty; b~ut in spite of these injuries, i carried on. I did so because I was asked hy many citizens, by the then City ~$anager and also members of the City Council. They were all sympathetic to my cause and they felt and I could still be service to the community by remaining with the P~olice ~epartment. In order to mak~e c~rtain that you are full_y cognizant of my many in- juries received the varions times in the performance of my duties, · am listing them: Injured September ~Vth~, 19B7~, while arresting Willie Hanks, west of the Belt Linde Railroad, in a field, 10:00 P.~., for violating whiskey law, dislocated right shoulder. Injured December 7th, 19B9, kicked in groin by a colored man at B918 Deep C~eek Blvd., while m~king an arrest for viola~ting the whiskey law~ I am suffering today from a hernia received r~king this arrest. Injured October ~th, 19B8, while chasing Linwood ~. wilkins~ a notorious ~bootlegger who ,was operating an automobile under the in- fluence of whiskey; He attempted to run over me, causing me to jump from my motorcycle, spraining my le~t ankle, causing me to be on crutches for two weeks. Injured in automobile accLdent J~nuary ~0th~ 19G~, at 10:00 while returning Leverne Bass from Savannah, .Ga., c ~harged with h igh- way robbery, was unconscious in hospital at Ridgeland, s.C., ~util January ~lst, at 10:S0 A~I., Qoncussion of the br~in, internal in- j~_~ies and a broken ~right hand. V~ner~ i resumed to Portsmouth, Anderson, then City i~anager, sent me to the Kings ~)aughters Hosp~_ta] and employed Dr. Vann, a bone specialist, t o operate on my hand, so I would have use of it. I have also been to Dr. Redwood, Dr. Land, Drs. Stokes and ~,IcCoy for injuries received to my head, having three operations on my nose. I have suffered from the internal in- juries for fifteen years, having been treated by many doctors in Portsmouth and i~orfolk s_nd unable to find the trouble after being X-~rayed and fluorescoped, I went to Duke University Hospital for eight days and thel doctor there could not find my trouble. About seven weeks ago while attending a Council meeting, i had a hemorr- hage of the bowels, when i~ returned home i had another; the next · morning I had two more. i went to Dr. Brownley Hedges and he ordere~ me to the hospital where he diagnosed my case as bruised intestines whil~ the X-ray wouldnot show. I am still under Dr. Brov~iey Hedges In 19~Y or l~°~ myfsaily doctor said i was unable to work on night shifts, so ~r. Harper, then Cit~y I¥1an~ger, b_ad me examined by the City Doctor and the doctor from the Health Department and they reported i was ~uable to do night duty on account of a sinus condi- tion. I have not been assigned to night dut~ since. Injured October l~th, l~, at 0.00 P.E., w~ml~ c~as_ng ~a speed- ing automobile at the rate of 88 miles anhour, on ~ounty ct., wes~ of the Belt Line Railroad, while checki~ the speed of the automobi] I read the speedometer and as I raised my eyes I was on top of a hole in the street. I tried to duce the hole; my rear wheel st~ck ss_~e and I skidded 87 feet before I was t?~o~m over the handle ba~s and landed on my right shoulder, breakir~ mY. right shoulder blade, injuring my spine, I lost the use of my right arm for two months, the vertabraes in my spine were ja~med together, pinching the nerve controlling the movement of my arm. ~. Owens, then City ~ianager, sent me to D~. Bybee for nine months vreatment. Unless I hear from you t o the convrary, t shall assun~e that you agree with me that I ~m to continue as Chief, stepping down to the position of Captain one day each year~ If you do no~ feel that this is the o~oper course and so advise me, i shall move the honorable member~ of the City Council, at its next meeting, t o r etire me." mormon of-Na~. Sturtevant that if and when the Chief of Police re- tires, vol'~atarily or involuntarily, he be retired as Chief of-Police, his pension beSng base¢ on the same ratio as that of~other City employees, was adopted, and by the following vote: n-e.e, Loudon St. ~ud gineer relieve s~e Ayes: Fox, Bilisoly, Duke, Grimes~ H~nderson, Houghton, Howard, Stu~tevant, Warren, Welseman, Wilson Nays: None. ~r. Houghton stated that t~he d raLuage condition of Commonwealth Ave- Oregon Ave. is very bad and his motion that the City ~aager and City at once, was adopted.