Thread by @seanbiehle

Thread: It has been a long, sad, but also hopeful week since #GeorgeFloyd was murdered. I have been encouraged by the signs of peace and unity across the world, including my own community here in St. Louis. 1/

After marching in the #Kirkwood unity parade and reading some excellent reporting about the history of police in the past week, including this by @MelissaDSegura I wanted to share a story that crosses paths with my family history. 2/ buzzfeednews.com/article/meliss…

It is a story that I am sure many have forgotten nor ever even knew. This is the story of Jackson Gardner. And I want to say his name. 3/

Accounts vary. But the general consensus is that Jackson Gardner, an unarmed black man was shot and killed by a St. Louis policeman on Monday, August 4, 1879. 4/

His story may be over 140 years old, but the parallels – in St. Louis with Michael Brown & Anthony Lamar Smith – with George Floyd and the nearly 1,000 people shot nationwide by police every year are striking. 5/ washingtonpost.com/investigations…

Jackson Gardner, who previously served two terms in the work house for burglary in the second degree and pretty larceny, was reportedly arrested on a lascivious charge by Officer William Hogan the evening of August 4, 1879. 6/

"Assigned to special duty," Officer Hogan was dressed in civilian clothes at the time. According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report the next day, Gardner, was unarmed but "was a powerful man" and "struck his captor in the pit of the stomach and ran north on Pine Street." 7/

"Hogan, unable to cry out from the effects of the blow, raised his revolver and discharged one chamber in the air just as the fugitive passed the Post-Dispatch office." 8/

Hogan’s shot attracted hundreds into the street, including Officers Pat Burke and Edward Fenlon. Those officers took chase, apparently with clubs in hand, pursuing Gardner. 9/

One of the witnesses, Charles F. Brown, later reported, "I noticed a club fall from the hand of one of the pursuing party, who I thought at the time was an officer from the uniform that he wore. I did not see any star on his breast, but noticed the bright brass buttons…" 10/

As Gardner neared the Planter’s House laundry, another shot rang out, and he fell heavily to the pavement. Despite attracting the attention of hundreds, no one witnessed the shooter. 11/

Gardner was quickly taken to the Dispensary and, upon being examined by the attending physician, "faintly muttered, 'My poor sister,'" and died. 12/

It was quickly determined that the shot that killed him was fired by a policeman. However, the Coroner, Dr. Hugo Auler, assembled a jury of six men who could not agree on the identity of who fired the shot. 13/

The St. Louis Globe-Democrat said, "this seems very absurd in the face of testimony; but can hardly be called surprising, for Coroner’s juries rarely miss an opportunity to act in an absurd manner." 14/

In the days following Gardner’s murder, "considerable discontent has of late manifested by the public at the condition of the police force." The St. Louis Post Dispatch interviewed several police authorities about the use of firearms. 15/

Acting Chief of Police, Captain William Lee, said, "It matters not who killed that negro, it was murder. If one of my officers did it or one of the bystanders, it remains just the same – murder." 16/

"The fact of Gardner’s escaping from Hogan, Burke and Fenlon on last Monday night, and he being swifter of foot than they was no reason that either of them should draw a revolver and shoot him down." 17/

My great-great grandfather, Charles Biehle, who had been on the force for fourteen years at that point, was asked what was the duty of a policeman in making an arrest. 18/

"Well, he must take his man, but he has no right to shoot him"
"But, suppose the prisoner breaks away?"
"If the officer knows his business the prisoner can’t get away…" 19/

“If a man doesn’t halt when you call on him?”
“Well, that don’t give me any right to kill him. You see there are a lot of young officers who think those pistols are given them to use every day. Now I have been on the force fourteen years and I have only used my pistol once.” 20/

After a week long investigation, the Coroner’s office ordered Officers Burke and Fenlon to be arrested (the latter as an accessory) on August 12, 1879. A Grand Jury was assembled early the next year in January 1880. 21/

Judge Henry D. Laughlin told the Grand Jury, “A man has been killed. It is your duty to learn who killed him, and under what circumstances." 22/

"A policeman is a soldier; a soldier in time of peace. He is permitted to use his weapon when a citizen can not; a policeman should never hesitate to shoot when necessary, and if he shoots when not necessary he should be dealt with in the most rigid manner." 23/

Later that Spring, the Grand Jury for the March 1880 term "found no occasion for indicting anyone." 24/

Despite the "considerable discontent" directed by the public at the condition of the police force, there was no justice for Jackson Gardner. There was no peace for Jackson Gardner. Only a cry for his poor sister. 25/