Dan Harrington, colored policeman at West Southern Pines, has been remanded to jail without bond for the fatal shooting of Clarence Williams, also colored, at a spot in his jurisdiction late Friday night. He claims self-defense, alleging he was assaulted by Williams and the other two occupants of the car, which he had stopped, when he stooped to pick up a half-gallon fruit jar of liquor that had fallen out of the dead man’s overcoat pocket.
The testimony of Leroy Williams and Earl Cameron, the other two occupants of the car, as given at the coroner’s hearing, however, is at sharp variance wit that of Harrington to the Mayor’s office to answer that Clarence was shot when he started to throw his overcoat in the car before proceeding with Harrington to the Mayor’s office to answer to the charge of violating the traffic ordinance.
Tells of Shooting
Harrington says one of the occupants of the car threw the overcoat over his head while he was in a stooping position to recover the dropped jar of liquor. All three of them, he says, fell upon him, one holding the overcoat over him, one pounding him on the back and the other wrestling with him for possession of the pistol. In the scramble, he says the pistol fell to the ground.
West Southern Pines, which is a colored settlement, is governed by a colored mayor and commissioners. All of the officials of the town are colored, Harrington, the defendant, being the night policeman.
His Testimony
“I was going from the school house and this car was near Broadway Café. As I came from the school house and got near Henderson’s store I started across the street and someone was standing on the corner of Pennsylvania avenue near the Free Will Baptist church. When I got in the middle of the street the man standing on the corner broke and ran. I watched him so I could see who he was when he got under the light. Just before he got under the light so I could identify him, he jumped on his car and turned up the street by Broadway Café and didn’t have any lights at all. He drove one block and when he got to the highway I saw him turn on the light, but he had but one. He then turned and came back down the street and I ordered him to stop in about 10 yards of the church door and he drove on. I jumped out of the road and jumped on the side of his car and grabbed the steering wheel, telling him to stop his car. He stopped. I asked him ‘if he was trying to run over me.’ He says ‘No, we are not trying to run over you.’ I said ‘It seems so, as I halted you to stop and you didn’t do it.’
“I asked him what he meant by running around here without lights. He said ‘Haven’t we got lights burning in the front?’ I told him he had one, but when he left from where he was standing awhile ago he didn’t have any. I told him he didn’t start this one burning until he hit Broad street. I told him to consider himself under arrest and let’s go to the Mayor’s office. He said he didn’t know where the Mayor stayed. I told him I was supposed to carry him. He started backing his car up and then stepped on it and said, ‘oh, hell, get out boys.’ The boys were getting out on one side and I told him to get out on the other side. I had hold of his arm and turned him loose, and walked in front of the car to where he was getting out, and caught hold of his arm, and heard the bottles ring in his overcoat pocket. I told him ‘no wonder you don’t want to know the way to the Mayor’s office.’ Then I went to search him and every pocket I slapped there was whiskey it. He smacked back and said, ‘you don’t have to search me, you haven’t got a search warrant.’ Then I put my gun on him. He said, ‘let me give this fellow his overcoat.’ He pulled it off and handed it back to him and then I stuck my gun back in my pocket. When he was giving this boy his coat, a half gallon fruit jar of whiskey fell from his pocket. When I reached down to pick up the jar, the one with the coat threw it over my head and one of them hit me in the mouth while the coat was over my head. One had hold of each arm, I began jerking, trying to get loose and one was striking me in the back, and one trying to get my gun. Both of us grabbed the gun about the same time and the gun fell to the ground, and I reached down and picked it up. It was then that I shot him.”
Another Version
Leroy Williams, who was in the car, testified: “We were coming from Pinehurst and going to Aberdeen. We were stopped by Dan Harrington just before we entered Pennsylvania avenue in West Southern Pines. He asked us if we didn’t know we had but one light. He said back up and consider yourself under arrest. Clarence said alright and we got out. And as we turned to go to the Mayor’s office, my brother Clarence pulled off his overcoat and as he turned around to put it in the car, he was shot by Dan Harrington. After he shot him he said somebody go and get the doctor, but he never came back. After Clarence was shot he didn’t speak until he died.”
The testimony of Leroy Williams was substantiated by that of Earl Cameron, the other occupant of the car, who said:
“As we started into Pennsylvania avenue Dan Harrington asked us if we didn’t know we had but one light. We told him no and he said back your car up. Asked Clarence if he didn’t know he was under arrest. Dan said ‘come on and go with me to the Mayor’s office.’ Clarence said ‘alright.’ We got out and started and Clarence pulled off his overcoat and turned his back to go to the car and Dan shot him. the shooting occurred about 11 o’clock on the night of April 2.”
From the front page of The Moore County News, Carthage, N.C., Thursday, April 8, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92074101/1926-04-08/ed-1/seq-1/
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