In the early fifties the Naples Police Department suffered its first killed-in-the-line-of-duty officer. His name was Carl Strickland and he worked evenings--or whenever needed--in McDonald's Quarters. He lived there. He was black.
But don't look for Carl in the rolls of deceased warriors. Or on the handsome memorial monument gracing the grounds of NPD's Headquarters. It's not there. Why?
Not because the NPD didn't make a diligent effort to establish the facts in the incident. They did, but after an exhaustive search of the records they were unable to establish to a certainty that Carl was murdered, Or even worked there.
Contemporaries remember Carl well. One, Chief Ben Caruthers, knew Carl, knew his wife, knew he was a NPD officer that worked exclusively in McDonald's Quarters, and that he was murdered in an ambush about two weeks before Caruthers joined the department in 1954. He also remembered that Carl's widow was given a small pension.
Otherwise, the facts are slim and the records long gone--if they ever existed. This is depriving the NPD of one of it's heros and the recognition that Officer Strickland deserves.
According, we're asking that if you have any info about Carl Strickland you contact me at oldcop007@yahoo.com.
Let's set the record and history straight.
Thanks.
But don't look for Carl in the rolls of deceased warriors. Or on the handsome memorial monument gracing the grounds of NPD's Headquarters. It's not there. Why?
Not because the NPD didn't make a diligent effort to establish the facts in the incident. They did, but after an exhaustive search of the records they were unable to establish to a certainty that Carl was murdered, Or even worked there.
Contemporaries remember Carl well. One, Chief Ben Caruthers, knew Carl, knew his wife, knew he was a NPD officer that worked exclusively in McDonald's Quarters, and that he was murdered in an ambush about two weeks before Caruthers joined the department in 1954. He also remembered that Carl's widow was given a small pension.
Otherwise, the facts are slim and the records long gone--if they ever existed. This is depriving the NPD of one of it's heros and the recognition that Officer Strickland deserves.
According, we're asking that if you have any info about Carl Strickland you contact me at oldcop007@yahoo.com.
Let's set the record and history straight.
Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment