DC Police Blotter

[BettyO]

An interesting article online pertains to the DC Police blotter and references to the many historical happenings which occurred in our Nation's Capitol through the years - from one of the FIRST Presidential "speeding tickets" to Lincoln's assassination --

Would LOVE to see these old log books -

Maybe my next trip to DC will result in my going to the Metropolitan Police Department!!

http://www.wtop.com/109/3067836/Presiden...ng-tickets

[L Verge]

I used to have a contact person there who was acting as the Department's historian. They have set up an impressive little museum, I understand. This person also told me that the John Parker files may still be in the hands of a long-retired officer who rescued them from the trash. If you decide to pursue this, I'll give you the officer's name - but not sure he's still with that position.

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I forgot to mention that Surratt House was able to supply the Metropolitan Police Department with a lot of information on A.C. Richards. They knew very little about their superintendent during that time. Luckily, Gary Planck, Richards's biographer, was a member of the Surratt Society for years.

[RJNorton]

Laurie, maybe I misunderstood what might be in that file, but could it have the missing transcripts of his case from May, 1865?

[L Verge]

That is what we understand. This officer had never seen it, however. From what we understand, there was a massive house cleaning in the 1960s at MPD, and "out-of-date" files were tossed. Supposedly an officer at that time salvaged the Parker File from the trash. I was led to believe that quite a few of the old-timers know who has it, but their lips are sealed. If these are originals, and not photocopies, I suspect they might bring a good amount in an assassination-related auction.

[Rsmyth]

Metropolitan Police Report – Approximately 11:00 PM on April 14th 1865 an unidentified officer on duty at the station logged the following information into the Detective Corps blotter:
"At this hour the melancholy intelligence of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln President of the U.S. at Fords Theatre was brought to this office and the information obtained . . . goes to show that the assassin is a man named J. Wilks Boothe.”
This item is currently in the National Archives.
John F. Parker Official Charge – This 1 page, folio, partly printed document tendered May 1st 1865 was the official charge against patrolman Parker for “neglect of duty.”

Superintendant A.C. Richards adds to the charge "...Patrolman John F. Parker was detailed to attend and protect the President Mr. Lincoln, that while the President was at Ford's Theatre on the night of 14 of April of last, said Parker allowed a man to enter the President's box and shoot the President."

The document was signed by A.C. Richards, Secretary T.A. Laenby, witnessed by Charles Forbes “at President’s House,” and John F. Parker certifying receipt of the document.

The relic was auctioned in September 2000 by Christies Auction House with a pre-auction sale price of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $28,200.

[L Verge]

This was just the paper charging Parker, wasn't it? I believe the case files of his hearing are what is still missing.

[Rsmyth]

Yes, those are the charges. Somewhere in my notes I have the story on the former policeman finding the the files in the trash. Am I imagining that he lent the files to a small DC police related museum that is now closed? Then he took them back and there was talk or the government now wanting them?

[L Verge]

I hadn't heard that, and my contact didn't mention it -- sounds very possible, however. It would be nice to have them back in public hands.

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Blaine Houmes for sending this interesting link.

[Susan Higginbotham]

The log books are at the National Archives. I looked through them a couple of months ago. I didn't find what I was hoping to find, but I did get to look at the report of the assassination. The National Archives has an article about the police records here:

http://www.archives.gov/publications/pro...olice.html

[L Verge]

I am going to have to see if I still have my emails with a D.C. police officer who was attempting to organize a Metropolitan Police museum a few years back. At that time, I believe that both the log book and possibly the missing papers on John Parker, were known to be in the possession of a former officer, who had not yet been convinced to give them up. I'm delighted to see that at least the log book was returned in 2008. I think that was just about the time that I was corresponding with the then-historian for the department. The last time I contacted him, he had been assigned different duties.