| This
information led me to the one of the newspapers
of the day, where I found one small article. The
headline simply read: "Officer Follows Duties
to Grave." The story is more complicated.
A week earlier, there had
been a theft of $1,000 worth of clothing from
the store of Mr. Morris Cohen. Led by information
provided by Mr. Cohen, Patrolman Crow and his
partner, R. L. Shy, were told that there were
two suspects who had fled to San Diego. Arriving
in San Diego, the patrolmen (on loan to detectives)
and Mr. Cohen, were told that the suspects were
in Calexico, a very remote city located at the
Mexican border in the Imperial Valley Desert,
90 miles east of San Diego.
With temperatures well over
a hundred degrees, and according to the newspaper,
reaching 135 degrees, the trio set off for Calexico.
One must understand that in 1916 the roads were
mostly dirt, with no civilization or amenities
along the route. By the time they reached Calexico,
Mr. Cohen was near collapse, and was immediatly
sent back. Patrolman Crow was also extremely ill
from the sun, but insisted to his partner that
they should not give up.
After receiving information
that the suspects had fled to Mexicali, Mexico
but "were hovering" between the two
cities, the officers staked out the border area.
With temperatures again soaring, the two officers,
ill-prepared for the extremes of the desert, suffered,
but would not give up. Their patience paid off
when the two suspects were seen crossing the border
into the United States and were taken into custody.
Less than an hour after
the arrest, and with the suspects in their custody,
Patrolman Crow collapsed. His partner quickly
drove him to the hospital in Calexico. When word
reached the LAPD, Assistant Chief Home telegraphed
that "no expense should be spared in fighting
for the officer’s life." But, according
to the physicians, there was little hope of his
surviving even a few hours. Officer Crow died
that same day from exposure to the elements after
making the arrest of the two felony suspects.
Officer Crow was born in
1877 and was appointed to the LAPD August 17,
1907. For his final three years, he had been detailed
to the detective bureau. He left a widow. Officer
Crow is not listed in any LAPD list of officers
killed. This author hopes to change that. |
