On Jan. 21 in an effort coordinated with the police, several S-D residents, who understandably prefer to remain annonymous, trailed two men suspected of being guttering and downspout thieves. Police and residents converged on the disreputable duo from all directions. The pair offered no resistance, but laughed brazenly when approached. When asked to produce identification, the two showed their St.Louis Police Department badges.
Some, we fear, will extract the wrong moral from this story.
It should not be – considered a warning not to get “involved.”
Nor is it an assertion that most suspicious-looking loiterers are plain clothes policemen.
Rather let it be an example of the concern for their neighborhood that some people put into action and of the frustration that sometimes results.
Original photograph caption
Original investigator illustration printed with Keystone Krime Stoppers, The Paper, February 1974, page 1. Artist not credited.
Originally published in The Paper, February 1974.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1974_02.pdf, printed page(s) 1.
