An unfortunate encounter with a detective
A citizen is fined for confronting an undercover officer after a heated exchange near the circus grounds.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
"You step on my foot again and I'll swat you one in the face," are the words in which Detective Fitzgerald addressed Frank Wyse, of Milton, as he was coming from the circus grounds last night. Because of this manner of address and because Wyse thought Mr. Fitzgerald was drunk, Judge Griffin let Wyse off with a $5 fine. He was charged with being a disorderly person in that he took exception to Fitzgerald's method of addressing him. By accident Wyse stepped on the officer's heels, and after being addressed in what he thought to be an insulting way, he took his jack-knife from his pocket and kept watch on the officer in citizen's clothes. However, he did not escape arrest.
“Because of this manner of address and because Wyse thought Mr. Fitzgerald was drunk, Judge Griffin let Wyse off with a $5 fine.”
This incident highlights early 20th-century tensions regarding policing, civility, and the use of 'plainclothes' officers, reflecting a long-standing discourse on how authority is asserted in public spaces.
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