Patrolman William Harriman

Patrolman William E. Harriman

We have acquired four of Patrolman Harriman's old case books from the 1930s to the 1950s, covering various cases worked by the Patrolman during those years. We will add pictures and explain anything that needs explanation.

Book 1 of 4 covering 1930 until 1933

There is a lot in the first book, which covers 1930 until 1933, but one of the best cases we found occurred on June 17, 1933, when Patrolman Harriman arrested a 17-year-old kid named Henry Bailey Jr. for shooting his father, Henry Bailey Sr. What sounds like a crazy story of an out-of-control kid turns out to be a heroic kid protecting his brother from an abusive father. The father was on a court-ordered stay-away order for domestic violence when a neighbor saw him creeping toward the home. H. N. Bailey Jr. and his mother were notified, leading Bailey Jr. to go out in an attempt to chase his father away. His father refused to go, leaving the son no choice but to fire on his own dad in order to protect his mother from certain abuse. See the following article from the Baltimore Sun, June 17, 1933:

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After ignoring a court order to stay away from his wife's house and being shot one time out of five attempts by his own son, Henry Bailey Jr., Henry Bailey Sr. is the one that ends up with criminal charges lodged against him; it was him that would catch a charge of disturbing the peace and end up with a guilty finding on his record and having to pay fines and court costs. His son at first sounded like a criminal, but when all was said and done, young Bailey was a hero protecting his mother from an out-of-control and violent father who would have most certainly attacked and beat Henry Jr.'s mother. He did what he had to; he did what needed to be done, and in the end, all charges filed against him had to be filed, but they were all equitably dismissed in court.

 

It was kind of a novelty that Patrolman Harriman was often teased about, but while in the mounted squad, the patrolman was assigned and rode a horse named Dan. Dan was a descendant of an Arabian Sheik's horse.