On March 11, 1911 inmate Jerry McCarthy, aided by trustee Peter Juhl, escaped from Stillwater Prison. Throughout the Spring and Summer of 1911, the two men were on the run committing robberies around the Twin Cities. On July 15, while planning a robbery of the vault at the Central State Bank at Twenty-fourth Street and Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis, McCarthy was apprehended by Minneapolis Police Officer Joseph Ollinger. A close-range gun battle between Officer Ollinger and McCarthy ensued killing both.Peter Juhl remained at large until August 12 when he was captured on the crowded Selby Avenue-Lake Street streetcar after mortally wounding St. Paul Detective Frank Fraser. Juhl was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of Detective Fraser.
The Minneapolis Police Museum is proud to announce that yesterday, in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day, we published Retired Officer Ronald Ottoson’s book on this subject “To Protect With Courage: Volumes One and Two”.
In Volume One, Ron has brought together the key newspaper articles and additional supporting documents to tell the story of the line of duty deaths of Officer Joseph Ollinger and Detective Frank Fraser. Volume Two contains additional supporting information including census data and biographical details of all persons involved in the Ollinger and Fraser cases.
We are grateful to Ron for his vital contributions to furthering the awareness of the history of the Minneapolis Police Department. Ron has donated the proceeds from To Protect With Courage to the Minneapolis Police Museum and we appreciate his kind and generous support. Every penny of the royalties from the two volumes will go directly to support the initiatives of the Minneapolis Police Museum.
Here are links to the books on Amazon:
To Protect With Courage: Volume One: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094TJKFT1/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ronald+ottoson&qid=1621200643&sr=8-1
To Protect With Courage: Volume Two: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094T5Z2QG/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=ronald+ottoson&qid=1621200788&sr=8-3
Thank you for your support!