This is the second look at 144-16-95 [Frank Ray, Melvin Clements; Loran Lovan Taylor, Roland L. Gay – Victims] for information about an incident that happened around the 600 block of Rhode Island Avenue.
Today we will look at a statement from Mrs. Mildred C. Johnson who lived at 516 R St NW.
STATEMENT
MRS. MILDRED C. JOHNSON
516 R Street, N.W.
Washington, D. C.
Q.
Mrs. Johnson where were you when this happened?
A.
When I first came up the street it was approximately between 6:30
and 7 o’clock. At the time it was brought to my attention, I was in my husband’s car. We were returning from an afternoon session at the church. The thing that came to my attention, there was a middle-age woman and some people standing in the street. I heard this lady say, “Oh my, I believe that policeman means to kill that man.” That took my attention from the car. In the meantime the red light had us and we didn’t get two feet across the intersection when the car stopped. I looked down where the crowd was. I couldn’t
get a description of the police, but I knew it was a policeman. He was beating on something over in the hedges. I couldn’t see the man but I could hear him hollering.
Q.
How many times did this police officer strike this man?
A.
I don’t know because this was going on before my attention was
called to it. He must have struck him 3 or 4 times when I noticed it. At this time the billie broke in half. At that time it seems the man might have tried to get to his feet. No sooner than the billie was broken the policeman went in his holster and went bang, bang, bang.