Constitutional Law

Old time LEO passes away

A friend of mine, Carl Behrens, just died, age 85. He'd been president of Tucson Rod and Gun Club way back, and a Pima County Sheriff's deputy even farther back. Probably in the 1950s and thereafter. Back in the days when there, er, weren't a lot of rules.

He was absolutely fearless. Lots of mafioso retire to Tucson, and the usual rule is that you don't practice your business locally. One, I think it was Bats Battaglia, did. One day Carl visits a business in his patrol district, and finds the owner has a broken leg. Says it was an accident. A few weeks later Carl visits again, and he has a broken arm. Carl questions him and he admits Battaglia's guys are shaking him down for protection money.

Carl knows a restaurant where Battaglia likes to eat dinner. He goes there, out of uniform, and when the mobster goes to the men's room, follows him. When Bats turns around and zips up, Carl (who was a very big guy) grabs him by his coat lapels, lifts him up, and snarls that he's a deputy, he knows he's been shaking down businesses in his patrol district, and if it ever happens again he will visit upon Bats all the injuries that have been inflicted on anyone in his district. Then he leaves.

The shakedowns stopped. The mobster had met a cop who talked his language. I'll add more stories in extended remarks later today.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on October 23, 2008 (boomark / email).