From the original cutline: An average cell at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth is 7 feet by 12 feet. Such cells were designed for one inmate, but crowding has required that some be used to house two.
(Click the photo to see a larger, better version.)
From the original cutline, Jan. 6, 1973: Preparing to make the first of five arrests yesterday in Kansas City, Kansas, on obscenity charges were Vern Miller, Kansas attorney general (right), and Nick Tomasic, assistant Wyandotte County attorney.
I guess the classifieds used to be a lot more fun to read around here ...
From the original cutline: THE FIRST ROLL CALL and inspection in the new No. 1 district police headquarters building at 717 Admiral Boulevard was carried out at 3:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon in the squad room. At the left is Sgt. James Peterson, desk sergeant at the station. The building, formerly occupied by an insurance company, was obtained two months ago, and the patrolmen, in their spare time, remodeled the interior. All No. 1 district operations will be at the station, which is commanded by Maj. William Gilmer.
From the original cutline: PROTOTYPE OF AN EXPANDED FORCE? -- Metro Squad officers examine a staked-off murder site early in 1966. The squad, which functions across city and state lines, was formed in 1964.
(I can't find the original story this goes with. This picture was reprinted in 1968 with an article about how consultants were recommending that our local PDs merge into one force.)
From the original cutline: Kansas City, Kan., officers investigate the scene of a double homicide at 42nd Street and Parallel Parkway in Wednesday afternoon. The vehicle that had been driven by a suspect in the shooting is in the background.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE FULL-SIZE VERSION.)
The date stamp is blurred on the back -- this is from either 1967 or 1987. I'm betting 1967.
The original cutline: Two new motorcycles recently purchased by the Overland Park police department are being used in daylight hours on selective traffic enforcement. The vehicles, manned by Patrolman George A. Riley (left) and C.W. Sundbye, will be dispatched to traffic trouble spots throughout the city. The motorcycles, because of size and maneuverability, are more effective in congested areas than patrol cars.
From Oct. 31, 1966: A jump by a police dog through a burning hoop marked the opening today of Law Observance week at the Ward Parkway shopping center.
The ceremony, opening a set of police enforcement displays at the shopping center, was witnessed by Edward Scheufler, former U.S. attorney, chairman of Law Observance week; Russell Millin, U.S. attorney, and Lt. Col. James E. Newman, head of the police department staff and inspection bureau. The dog is Knight, trained by Cpl. Ron Leslie of the Kansas City police department.
From Feb. 21, 1960: Paul Renshaw, photographer for The Star, agreed to be the "victim" in this test of a dog's prowess. Renshaw fled as Bruce, 73-pound German shepherd of the St. Louis police department, was ordered to attack. Bruce is about to throw Renshaw to the ground. Photograph is something like a self-portrait, since Renshaw set the camera for use by a police officer.
Not a local photo. From the original cutline: Alleged burglar Frank Morales, 42, is stuck in the chimney at an Oceanside, Calif. residence when he was arrested early Monday morning by Oceanside police. He was booked in the Vista, Calif. jail on charges of burglary and resisting arrest.
From the original cutline: Police sergeant Richard McKiddy (left) and detective John Kerby survey stolen lawn statues valued at more than $1,000 recovered by police yesterday at a residence. The officers said they believe the items were taken from residences in the northeast part of the city. Two juveniles and an adult are being questioned in connection with the thefts. (Photo by Ray Corey.)
From the original cutline: Officers in Emporia, Kan., search an apartment in one of a series of drug raids in Emporia and Abilene, Kan., ordered by Vern Miller, Kansas attorney general. About 30 arrests were made.
From the original cutline: John W. Burks (right) and Garland Slavens, patrolmen, examine the hashish pipes and narcotics seized early today in a raid at 4027 Harrison. (Staff photo by Ray Corey.)
From the original cutline: Police talk with witnesses and search for clues after an armed robbery Thursday morning at an Apco station near the corner of 15th and Gennessee streets in Kansas City. Two passengers were shot.
From the original cutline: The Kansas City Police Department is looking for these two men in connection with a recent series of armed robberies. The photograph, which was taken with a surveillance camera at a convenience store, shows two men -- one armed with a handgun and the other reaching over the store counter.
From the original cutline: The ransacked living room of the Frank Benanti Sr. home was given a painstaking going over last night by Floyd Foster, a detective. Three assailants broke into the home at 1104 West Ninety-seventh street, tied up and terrorized Benanti and his wife, and escaped with goods and money of undetermined value, police said.
From the original cutline: Four teenage boys were injured Friday morning in a one-car accident near the 11400 block of Tomahawk Creek Parkway, a curving north-south road in Leawood. The 16-year-old driver of the car receives emergency medical attention from Leawood firefighter Wayne Harder. Later he got three traffic tickets from Leawood police.
Officer Steve Wilson said the car left the road and flipped over repeatedly for 215 feet. Three of the boys were treated for cuts and bruises and released from Saint Joseph Health Center. The fourth, who was riding in the front right seat, was admitted for observation. "They were very, very lucky," Officer Wilson said. For the full version of the photo, click here.
From the original cutline: Car trouble led to more trouble for 18-year-old Jose Garcia on Wednesday afternoon. Garcia (left) crashed through the front window of the Gingiss Formalwear Center, 5809 Johnson Drive, in Mission. He was having trouble with the car at a nearby intersection and after a push from some passers-by, he tried to pull it into a parking space in front of the shop. He said the brakes failed to hold and the car jumped the curb. No one was injured. Damage to the store had not been estimated.
From the original cutline: Wounded by a security guard who accidentally shot two customers in an A&P food store, 4621 The Paseo, was Robert Edwards, 54 years old, who was rushed to an ambulance while a crowd stood outside the store. Edwards suffered a chest wound. The incident occurred while the guard was arresting two suspected shoplifters. -- (Kansas City Star photography by Joe Wellington)
From the original cutline on Sept. 25, 1968: "Shaking down four men apprehended yesterday in Kansas City, Kansas, shortly after a holdup at the Nelson pharmacy, 901 North Tenth street, Kansas City, Kansas, police look for weapons and loot."
From the original cutline: As a precautionary measure against burglars, the vacationing residents of this home notified their district police station of their plans. All deliveries and mail were discontinued and arrangements were made to have the lawn mowed. Patrolman Howard Haskins makes a night check at the back door. He looks for signs of prowlers.
A 24-year-old man tried to assault a drugstore owner at 12th and Bennington, but was fatally shot instead.
From the original cutline: A holdup victim, Floyd R. Irwin, 51, was led by police last night from the Kozak drugstore, 5744 Prospect avenue, to an ambulance. Irwin was a customer in the store and was cut over his left eye when struck with a gun by the robber. The officers are Patrolmen Ronald Robinette (left) and William Armstrong.
From the original cutline that ran March 12, 1970: "A private guard, armed and in uniform, patrols the parking lot of a downtown business building at night. He is there as a deterrent to car prowlers seeking to steal or potential muggers or rapists. The dramatic rise in crime in recent years has seen a corresponding rise in the private security business. -- (Kansas City Star photograph by William E. Humphrey.)"
From the original cutline, May 14, 1967: Victims of a robbery of the A&P food store at 3113 Main street yesterday described to Hugh Butler, a patrolman, the actions of the four armed and masked men who robbed the store.
From the original April 13, 1969 cutline: The "joy ride" is over for these two youths as Patrolmen Garrett Smith and Terry Rogers (holding shotgun) arrest them for investigation of car theft. The first three months this year more than 1,500 stolen cars were reported to police. (Kansas City Star photograph by Ray Corey.)
You need to click on the larger image to get the full benefit. I really like how they've got a shotgun trained on these nefarious-looking preppies.
From the original cutline: A detective takes fingerprints from a safe pried open Tuesday night at the Blankinship Distributors, 1900 Vine Street. G. Lawrence Blankinship, third district councilman, owner of the wholesale drug and sundries distributing firm, said money from the safe plus a large amount of supplies were taken by the burglars. Det. Carl Haltman said the men entered by knocking a large hole in the rear of the building.
From 1979. "Two vice officers with the Kansas City Police Department hurry to make an arrest for soliciting during their decoy operation Friday night at 11th and Baltimore. The woman at left is a policewoman." (Note: you can only see the woman and the suspect in the full-size version. Click here. )
From February 1973, by photographer David Hutson. "Several members of the Kansas City Police Department stand by for instructions before proceeding with their part of the shakedown yesterday at the Jackson County jail. Officers carried gas canisters and masks for use in the event the prisoners rebelled."
This week: Kansas City SWAT. (Or tactical response, or special response. I keep forgetting the correct terminology.) I was browsing through the old files and found an entire manila envelope full of awesome. Above and below, local officers train at Fort Riley. These images are from 1976. To see larger versions, click here and here.
Seriously, click the larger version for this one. So awesome.
An image from 1980, a real-life situation. From the original cutline: "Officers from the Kansas City Police Department's tactical support unit watch the front door of a house at 210 N. Mersington during four hours of surveillance Sunday. The operation ended with the recovery of a high-powered rifle and a car registered to a suspect in the slaying of five persons May 29, but no one was arrested." Full image here.
This one's from 1979. Cutline: Two policemen helped conduct an Operation 100 in an incident in 1979 near Independence and Lawndale." Full image here.
This week: The trial of Tom Pendergast, the party boss who essentially ran Kansas City during the Great Depression. In May 1939, he pleaded guilty to income-tax evasion and received a sentence of 15 months in prison, plus five years probation. (The tax evaded, plus fines? About $830,000, according to David McCullough's book about Truman.) The next year, the "clean sweep" reform movement would overrun his political machine.
Click here for a larger version of the front page from above.
Pendergast, right, confers during his sentencing. Photo was taken by Jack Wally; image is courtesy of KCPT. Click here for larger version of the photo.
Another Pendergast photo from the courtroom. Click here for a larger version.
This is probably my favorite. The image quality's not the best, but it's Pendergast leaving the courthouse after his sentencing. That guy on the left, the one he's scowling at? That's his lawyer.
And for the road, here's a quote from Pendergast's last interview with a St. Louis paper, given after he got out of Leavenworth. (Found this in the Star's book "Kansas City: An American Story.")
"I've done a lot for Kansas City -- for the poor. I've done more than all the big shots and bankers ... Put this down: I've never broken my word to any living human being I gave it to. That is the key to success in politics."
Within five years of leaving jail, Pendergast would die at age 72.
This week: The Union Station Massacre. Five people -- a federal agent, two Kansas City police detectives, a police chief from Oklahoma and escaped convict Frank Nash -- were killed outside the train station on June 17, 1933. The shooting helped J. Edgar Hoover acquire more support and increased funding for what would become the modern FBI. Journalist Robert Unger had a book in 1997 that uncovered a lot of hidden history about how the case was handled.
A scan of the Star's front-page the day after the incident. (These are big files and a little rough, too. Top part of the page. Bottom part of the page.)
Above: A photo taken shortly after the shooting.
Below: A closeup of one of the vehicles involved in the shooting.
The Star has a huge library of old clippings and photographs; old-timers call it the morgue. We use a computer database that stores all our stories now, but some of the most interesting items are still on paper in filing cabinets. Once or twice a week, I'll be posting a few of those pieces from the archive.
This week: Bob Berdella, convicted in one of the city's most notorious serial killings. Berdella drugged, tortured and killed a series of young men at his home in Hyde Park. It all became public when one of his victims, who'd been abused for days, escaped wearing nothing but a dog collar. The top photo, obviously, is Berdella's booking shot. This is a scanned image of The Star's first big story about the case, which is in two parts.
An exterior shot of Berdella's home. Local millionaire Del Dunmire bought the place and had it torn down in 1993. Click here for a larger version.
From the original cutline: Police on Monday excavate the yard of a man who was charged with sodomizing a hitch-hiker he allegedly held captive for five days. On Sunday, police found what appeared to be a human skull in the yard. Click here for the complete, larger image.
From the original cutline: A Kansas City police officer throws a shovel-full of dirt while digging beneath the porch of a house in midtown Kansas City owned by Robert Berdella. Authorities have already found human bones and a skull buried on the property, along with photos in the house showing young men being tortured. Click here for the complete, larger image.
Berdella was sentenced to life in prison. He ended up serving four years and two months before he died of a heart attack in 1992. He was 43. Click here for the story about his death, as well as the second part.
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