Asylum Mobilitarium: May 2014

On August 5, 1977 the Dallas Morning News reported that Edward Lincoln King was the first to be sentenced in Dallas County to die by lethal injection. Judge Thomas Thorpe sentenced king to die on September 13^th. King had been found guilty of slaying Dallas Police Officer Leslie G. Lane in March, 1974.

The shooting of Officer Lane occurred after a 5-hour crime spree where King beat policewoman Bettie Robinson about 11:00pm outside her apartment while getting out of her car at 6200 Highland Hills. He put a .380 automatic to Robinson’s head and forced her back into her car. After a struggle, King struck Robinson in the head several times. She broke away and jumped out of the car. King then drove off in Robinson’s car also with Robinson’s .38 revolver and purse still in the car.

About 2:30 am he kidnapped two women from the corner of Birmingham and Oakland. One managed to jump out of the car and escape, but not before King fired a couple of rounds at her.

Fifteen minutes later Officer Mike Thomas spotted the suspects’ car and gave chase eastbound on Live Oak. King bailed out of the car and started running with Thomas after him. The woman that had been kidnapped and was still in the suspect’s car started screaming. Officer Thomas was distracted by the screaming and did not know that Officer Lane was also chasing after King. Behind a house, King fired at Lane and hit him twice in his side. Officer’s Thomas and D.P. Williams found Lane lying on a nearby driveway between 4703 and 4707 Live Oak. He was transported to Parkland Hospital where he died at 3:10am.

Meanwhile one of the kidnapped women was interviewed and knew King’s name (oh really?) and both were able to identify him from photographs on file. At 7:45 am the morning of the shooting officers surrounded King’s mother’s house at 3515 Frosty Trail. King surrendered after being woken up in his old bedroom. King was on parole at the time after being sentenced in 1963 to 110 years in prison for attempted murder, robbery and burglary. He had been paroled (?) in 1972.

In a story that still comes up every few years unfortunately, the DPD reported on August 14, 1977 that patrol strength had been reduced in several parts of the city because of old, worn out squad cars. Patrol officers in the Northeast and Southeast divisions complained that at any given time, about a quarter of the squad cars assigned to those divisions cannot be driven. Patrol supervisors confirm that there is a high rate of mechanical failures besides air-conditioner breakdowns. Southeast officers report that because there were no relief cars, they were forced to sometimes ride three to a vehicle.

The problem with the cars was complicated by the fact that 135 new patrol cars were sitting idle awaiting replacement parts for some unknown defect. One unknown police supervisor reported in one of two investigations sent to Chief Byrd into the lack of drive-able squad cars said anonymously that officers frequently abuse the squad cars. Another report stated that the City’s Equipment Services Division was often inefficient in replacing and repairing police cars. Assistant Chief Souter, commander of patrol operations stated to the DMN that “We occasionally have a shortage of cars. It’s not the numbers but keeping them repaired.” But, he also stated that “We haven’t had any shortages that deprive the public of protection.”

This writer remembers in August, 1977 I was a young rookie and the DPD had 1977 Pontiac Lemans squad cars. These had the cool red bucket seats, replacing the 1976 Lemans with the blue bench seats which made it tough for two officer’s, one being 6’2” and the other 5’7” to ride in the same front seat of the squad car! Heck, I don’t remember any problems but remember most everyone loving the Lemans, you could turn over the air cleaner and it would sound great! I guess in August, 1977 they were waiting on the 1978 Plymouth Grand Fury’s to show up during this time, a good big, heavy squad car but not loved (in some divisions at least) as much as the Lemans.

In others news happening in this hot month of August, along with faulty squad car air-conditioners was a report that a federal jury had found Dallas Police Chief Don Byrd, one police officer and nine jail attendants innocent of charges of neglecting a prisoner’s medical needs following a March, 1975 arrest.

Van Thomas Craig, serving two 5-year sentences for armed robbery, sued Byrd and the others for allegedly neglecting his wounds and physiological suffering (?) for the five days he spent in the jail at good old 106 S. Harwood. The jury in U.S. District Judge Robert Hill’s court decided that police did not violate Craig’s rights after he had been arrested for robbing a Kroger store on March 21, 1975.

Craig said that he was shot twice in the buttocks and once in the shoulder while attempting to escape from the grocery store. All three bullets exited his body apparently.

Officer J.E. Bateman took Craig to Parkland Hospital immediately after his arrest. Craig was treated for his wounds and released that night.

Craig said he was transported to a “stinking, dirty, cockroach infested cell at 106. He said that he was even forced to sleep on a bare, wooden board. Hmm.

Craig also claimed that he was continual pain from the bullet wounds and was under physiological stress during his stay from March 21 to March 26. On March 26 he “collapsed” and was “forced” to go back to the relative lap of luxury, compared to 106 I guess, Parkland Memorial Hospital, which was not named in the suit since I’m sure that they treated him gently and PMH did not have the smells or cockroaches’ that 106 S. Harwood had.

Craig asked for ten grand for his suffering and another ten grand to ‘punish” the 11 defendants. Well, he didn’t get it.

Okay… all of us that experienced the “stinking, dirty, cockroach infested (at least that part of the suit was true) 106 S. Harwood on any hot Friday night in August in 1977 should be in line for something from the City. Heck if they could pay my health insurance that would be cool.