November 17, 1934
THE STATE
Page Seven
New Kind of Cop
UK'S chief of detectives in Charlotte,
and he's entirely different from the
old-time, small-town police officer
whom you used to find in this part of
the country, and other parts as well.
By HICK YOUNG
ANEW kind of cop in North
Carolina is Frank N. Little¬
john, chief of detectives of the
City police department at Charlotte.
lie has brought a new brand of crime
detection to North Carolina and in six
short years ns a Charlotte police oflicer
has attained a national reputation as a
fearless, relentless and successful in¬
vestigator. Since his connection with
the Charlotte police department he has
been responsible for the solution of
every major crime, save one, that ha-
lx*cn committed in the city. And in
the single unsolved murder Chief Little¬
john says he knows the identity of the
killer and that some day he will l>e
brought to justice.
The Terrible Touhy Gang
Members of the "Terrible Touhy"
gang of Chicago figured on some “easy
money" and turned to Charlotte for
their “push over.” They got the
money, §105,000 of it, in an easy hold¬
up of a mail truck and fled in a well-
planned getaway. But they failed t"
take into consideration the intelligence
and tenacity of Chief Littlejohn and
because of their forage into what was
thought to bo a “kick town” the gang
was broken up and most of its members
were sent away for long stretches.
As the direct result of Chief Little¬
john’s work on the Charlotte mail truck
robbery, the kidnapping of John (Jake
the Barber) Factor was pinned on the
Terrible Touhys, and that ring of des¬
perate racketeers that had terrorized the
Windy City was disrupted and it* co¬
horts found themselves in the “big
house” or faced vengeful bullet- from
guns of their own partners in crime.
The cracking of this case and its sub¬
sequent revelations which cleared up a
sensational crime in Chicago was due
to scientific investigation which Chief
Littlejohn has advocated through the
establishment of modern police facili¬
ties. The finding of fingerprints on
beer bottles, discovered in an apartment
which the gangsters had abandoned, was
the opening wedge that broke the case.
The services of tin1
fingerprint bureau,
which Chief Little¬
john fought to ob¬
tain for Charlotte,
made it possible for
investigators to
know the identity
of the four bandits
within 48 hours
after the mail truck
was robbed.
Since the identi¬
fication bureau ha-
been established,
Chief Littlejohn
has constantly been
adding various
scientific apparatus
to further .strength-
oil the arm of t In¬
law against those
who would murder
and maim, hum
and pillage, or rob
and steal. Char¬
lotte was one of the
lirpt cities in the south to have a police
broadcasting station for rapid com¬
munication with cruising police cars
and Chief Littlejohn backed this en¬
terprise from its inception.
Fearless and energetic, Chief Little¬
john loathe- slovenliness ami is on the
verge of tears of impatience at every
“botched up” handling of a ease by a
subordinate. lie says that succcs-ful
police work is based on a wholesome
quantity of imagination and a more
generous portion of enthusiasm. There
is little sleep ami little food for him
when he starts on a trail of investiga¬
tion. He hasn’t time to eat or sleep
when an elusive goal beckons him. And
he usually dosu’t fold up until the
criminal is within his grasp.
Tracking down criminals is a career
to him, and nothing so irritates him as
to sec politics interfering with the
efficiency of any crime detection group,
lie is so bound up in making life hard
for the criminal that he can not con¬
ceive of a wardheeler grabbing a job
in a police department just for the
CHIEF FRANK N. LITTLEJOHN, who rounded up
the “Terrible Touhy" gang and has done other splen¬
did work in the investigating and crime-detection line.
monthly stipend. And he is convinced
that if the smart crook is to be curbed,
police officers will have to be equally
as smart and will have to bo equipped
with the same sort of modern facilities,
such as fast automobiles, rapid shoot¬
ing pistole and machine guns and quick
communication methods. But above all
the police departments must be manned
with intelligent fearless officers who
count not the cost but to throttle crime.
Overcame His Antagonists
Chief Littlejohn came to the Char¬
lotte department an ordinary oflicer but
he soon demonstrated that he was a keen
investigator. The lawless element of
the city always nlert for their owu
preservation, at once knew ho was a
man to be feared. The usual methods
of “getting at him" were tried ns flic
conscienceless racketeers spread rumors
about him. Hedefied them and through
the sheer force of his integrity he sent
them scurrying to safer distances. His
promotion to the position of chief of
( Continued on page hventyseren)
