By T. II. PEARCE
Adventures of an
Old-Time Patrolman
When I lie moonshiner crossed over
into Virginia, our hero dill uhat any
oilier red-blooded young man would
have done, he drove a little harder.
No one will deny that (he North
Carolina State Highway Patrol is one of
the finest, if not the finest, such or¬
ganization in the entire world. It has
been such a group since its inception
back in the early nineteen thirties.
Any organization made up of
healthy young men is bound to attract
some, who though they are dedicated
to the ideals of the organization and
devoted law enforcement officers, must
be classed as "characters"; a small
number who unconsciously put their
independence of spirit above everything
else.
I think it was from this type of
man that our country got Davy Crock¬
ett. Daniel Boone. Jim Bowie and oth¬
ers of similar stripe. Fine men all — our
country couldn’t have survived without
them — but they had something in com¬
mon, they couldn’t stand regimentation
and valued their personal freedom
above all else.
Front lime to time the North Caro¬
lina State Highway Patrol has had men
of this type, and one such was Bobby
Harris. In the few years that he served
with the patrol his exploits became
legend. If you arc lucky enough to
have a veteran state trooper for a friend
the chances are that he can relate some
of them to you.
A native of Warren County, Harris
joined the Patrol not very long after
his 21st birthday. No one could deny
that he was a devoted and efficient
law enforcement officer. Sometimes it
seemed that he might be a little too
devoted to his duty, and that trait,
coupled with an overabundance of in¬
dependence, led to a number of esca¬
pades that kept him in varying degrees
of hot water with his superiors for most
of the few years he served with the pa¬
trol.
There was the time, for example,
when he was stationed in Caswell
County. A quick look at the map will
show you that Caswell County is bor¬
dered by the Virginia State line on the
north and that the city of Danville is
just a very few miles from the border.
On this particular night young Har¬
ris was patrolling the highway in the
northern part of the county when he
chanced upon a car driven by a known
bootlegger, moonshiner, blockadcr or
whatever he was called in the local
lingo.
The bootlegger got a look at the pa¬
trol car at about the same time the
young patrolman got a glimpse of him
and the chase was on.
It was obvious, both from the looks
of the likker car and the driver’s de¬
sire to go elsewhere, that a load of il¬
legal booze was aboard, so Harris was
determined to get him.
As stated before, this occurred in
the northern part of Caswell County,
just a short distance front the Virginia
line, so it was evident from the start
that the strategy of the driver of the
likker car was to get to the line as
rapidly as possible, his theory being
that the trooper would give up the
chase once the state line was reached.
He didn't know the character of his
pursuer.
With the Virginia State Line fast
getting closer, Harris picked up his
mike to call his sergeant for advice.
The request for advice pul the ser¬
geant in a quandary, so he told Harris
to hang on while he contacted the Lieu¬
tenant. While hanging on, Harris was
torn momentarily between doing what
his superiors would expect and his own
determined inclination. The latter won
out.
The state line came into view and
both pursued and pursuer roared
across into Virginia. The moonshine
mover soon discovered that the state
line was no deterrent to his pursuer
and that he was still in trouble; so he
headed for nearby Danville, probably
figuring that his hopped-up booze
buggy would have the advantage of the
patrol car on the twisting city streets.
In a matter of moments they charged
onto the streets of Danville and a
strange sight it was. a North Carolina
patrol car chasing another vehicle on
the streets of a Virginia city.
It took but a few tire-screaming sec¬
onds to attract the attention of the
Danville Police Department and but a
few seconds more for the chase to be
taken up by their police cars. Round
and round went the whole procession
in a manner reminiscent of the Key¬
stone Cops of early Hollywood fame.
Finally Harris decided that things
were fast reaching the point where
something must be done. He was chas¬
ing the bootlegger, round and round,
corner after corner, block after block.
It seemed that every red light in the
universe was flashing and every siren
wailing and that every police car in the
city of Danville was in on the act. He
was chasing the likker car and most of
the Danville Police force was chasing
( Continued on page 33 )
22
THE STATE. July 1974
