Category: History

On July 25, 1920 the Minneapolis Morning Tribune reported that Minneapolis Police Department salaries were not keeping pace with inflation.

Minneapolis Police Department salaries on this day 100 years ago were:

• Patrol Officers – $140 a month
• Sergeants – $150 per month
• Lieutenants – $160 per month
• Captains and Detectives – $170 per month

We will cast the spotlight for a moment on the Patrol Officers – the Backbone of the Department – who were provided only their helmets, whistles, shields
and nightsticks by the city.

Patrol Officers were required to purchase their own uniforms without compensation.

Patrol Officers were required to have two suits of official clothes: one for fall and spring wear; and another for summer wear. For winter, they were also required to buy a fur-lined overcoat, extra heavy shoes, socks, underwear, and mittens to keep out the cold.

In the article, Patrol Officers shared that back in 1916, they could purchase a ready-made single-breasted summer uniform for $20. Double-breasted spring and fall uniforms cost them $27.50. A good fur-lined overcoat cost $125 in 1916.

By 1920, the cost of these articles had more than doubled while salaries remained flat.

Patrol Officers reported that in 1916, they were able to purchase the best pair of working shoes made for $4.50. In 1920, those same shoes cost between $12 and $15 a pair. Patrol Officers on the beat customarily walked through two or three pairs of shoes per year, so the increase in cost was not trivial.

Additionally, Patrol Officers were required to purchase their own revolvers without compensation.

In 1920, a 38 Caliber Colt Special Revolver, the standard gun of the Minneapolis Police Department at the time, cost $38 whereas in 1918 the same gun could be purchased for $18.

In a 1920 survey of Patrol Officer salaries for 45 Police Departments across the nation, it was found that the salaries for Minneapolis were fifth lowest.

In order to relieve some of the financial pressure on Patrol Officers, Chief Walker engaged with clothing manufacturers to begin producing uniforms and shoes for the Minneapolis Police Department at a lower price and advocated for higher salaries.

To read the full article from July 25, 1920, just click on the link below and scroll down to page 9.

https://newspapers.mnhs.org/jsp/viewer.jsp?doc_id=mnhi0005%2F1DFC5G5C%2F20072501&query1=&recoffset=0&collection_filter=All&collection_name=addabf07-f848-43e3-a488-2782562f220d&sort_col=relevance&objRsltIdx=0&CurSearchNum=8&recOffset=0

Minneapolis Morning Tribune of July 25, 1920 courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society

Photograph of Patrol Officer Alfred Averbeck from December 28, 1920 courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Here is a seldom-seen interior view of a brand-new armored car purchased by the Minneapolis Police Department in June of 1935.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Here is a photograph, dated 1900, of the Minneapolis Police Mounted Unit.

Photograph courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society

Here is a story about the Accent Signage Shooting from the “Minneapolis Police 150th Anniversary” book published by Acclaim Press (currently out of print).

Sergeant Billy Peterson remembers the feeling in the pit of his stomach as he led his 1280 team toward Accent Signage on a September afternoon in 2012. “I just remember how surreal it was. This was the real deal.”

A disgruntled employee turned active shooter was making his way through the workplace.

“It was extremely stressful because of the horrific nature of how it transpired. We had gone into the loading dock and one victim was dead, a catastrophic shot to the head. Then we saw them removing a critical victim. We’re bypassing people who had essentially just been assassinated. I still remember their names to this day,” Sergeant Peterson explained.

It took 39 minutes to find the shooter, who had taken his own life, but not before taking the lives of six others. “On this call, it was just people, innocent people at work, trying to earn a living, trying to go about their day. Some of the victims in this, I don’t think, had any idea what was about to happen,” Responding Officer Ken Tidgwell would recount years later.

The entire building was cleared an hour and 39 minutes after SWAT teams first entered. Two victims survived.

“We learned from Columbine that street cops can’t sit on the outside and wait for SWAT cops to show up because lives are lost in those precious seconds and moments. From my standpoint, I was extremely proud of our street cops. One of the surviving victims said ‘I had given up.’ He believed that his life was over. He heard officers calling out ‘this is the Minneapolis Police Department’ and it gave him the will to live,” Sergeant Peterson said.

Sergeant Peterson still drives by the building where one of the worst mass shootings in the state’s history took place. He still gets chills as he recalls the longest hour and 39 minutes of his career.

Accent Signage Victims
Six victims were killed in the shooting – five at the scene and the sixth dying in the hospital the following day. They were:

• Keith Basinski, 50, a UPS driver making a delivery to Accent Signage when he was killed
• Jacob Beneke, 34, an Employee
• Rami Cooks, 62, a Manager
• Ronald Edberg, 58, an Employee
• Reuven Rahamim, 61, Company Founder
• Eric Rivers, 42, a Production Manager who died on October 10, having been taken off life support after it was determined that he could not survive his wounds.

Another company executive, Director of Operations John Souter, was hospitalized at Hennepin County Medical Center in critical condition for some time. Another employee, Battites Wesley, suffered a graze wound and was hospitalized in stable condition and released the following day from Hennepin County Medical Center.

The City League Baseball Championship of 1952 was held at Nicollet Park “The Home of the Minneapolis Millers” which was located at Nicollet Avenue and 31st Street South.

In this photograph from August 6, 1952, Ron Olson (right) of the Camden Team slides into third base while John Dziedzic (left) covers third base for the Fire and Police Team.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

You will recall the recently-posted story of the robbery of the Third Northwestern National Bank.

Minneapolis Police Officers came out in numbers to try to help save Officer Leo Gorski by donating their blood.

In this photograph from December 16, 1937, Dr. Rueben Berman takes blood from Officer R.C. Lindvall while a line of officers await their turn to give blood.

From left to right, they are: Officers A.W. Miller, Earl F. Richter, J.P. Larson, J.W. O’Neill, T.A. Dahl, and Paul Green.

The assisting nurse is Ruth Broderick and the assisting orderly is unidentified.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Lawrence Deluney is clearly very happy after getting unstuck from the stove pipe at his house at 3102 Harriet Avenue South.

On August 14, 1940, Lawrence had been having a fun time watching his father take the pipe off the stove in the picture.

Suddenly, Lawrence backed up to the stove and somehow got his head jammed into the opening.

The Minneapolis Police Department was called and officers were able to free Lawrence.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Minneapolis Police Detectives Robert Ball (left) and Harold Brademan (right) investigate the scene at the Good Service Pen Shop in the Plymouth building after it was robbed on February 13, 1947.

The owner, Fanny Friedman (b. 1896, d. 1980), was known for her lively personality and her love of pens. Ms. Friedman left school after the eighth grade and began her life’s work selling and repairing pens. She established the Good Service Pen Shop in the 1920s and was in business at the same location until the late 1970s.

During the robbery, Ms. Friedman attempted to thwart the gunman by throwing a bottle of ink at him.

Ms. Friedman was shot and was in the hospital in critical condition for weeks.

Cedric Adams, who was a popular Twin Cities radio broadcaster on WCCO, gave daily updates on her recovery.

Quotation by Ms. Friedman from Robert T. Smith column, Minneapolis Tribune, September 8, 1976

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

You will recall the story from last week of the shooting of Officer James H. Trepanier at the Cotton Club on February 23, 1928.

Here is a wonderful photograph of Officer Trepanier in his full uniform taken sometime after his appointment to the Minneapolis Police Department on February 15, 1923.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library

Twenty-four persons were injured in a bus accident on March 15, 1948.

The accident occurred where 21st Street meets Queen Avenue South in Kenwood.

Two buses lost control on the icy hill and rammed head-on into each other.

In the photograph, three unidentified Minneapolis Police Officers help the passengers after the crash.

Photograph courtesy of Hennepin County Library