Wallace Therien

Patrolman Wallace B. Therien 

THERIEN ASSAULT SUSPECT CHARGED
The Sun (1837-1989); Aug 22, 1954;
pg. 24

Therien Assault Suspect Charged

A 25-year old Newark (N.J.) laborer yesterday was charged with shooting with intent to kill Patrolman Wallace B. Therien, Central district policeman wounded in a fight with two men at High and Hillen streets.

The Newark man, Roy Lee Curtis, was one of five men picked up at a near-by tavern shortly after Patrolman Therien was attacked by two Negroes late Friday night.

Patrolman Therien, recovering at Mercy Hospital from a bullet wound in the hand and what appears to be a stab wound in the back, said he was attacked when he ordered two men on his beat to stop drinking. One of the thugs tugged at the officer's pistol and the gun went off striking Therien in the hand.

 

JERSEYAN HELD TO JURY IN SHOOTING OF OFFICER

The Sun (1837-1989); Sep 9, 1954;

pg. 21

Jerseyan Held to Jury in Shooting Of Officer

Roy Lee Curtis, 25, of Newark, N.J., was held for the grand jury in $5,000 bail yesterday on charges of stealing a policeman's gun and then shooting him with intent to kill.

Patrolman Wallace B. Therien, at 11:30 P.M. August 20, was involved in a fight with two men at High and Hillen Streets, hit over the head with a beer bottle, cut across the back and then shot in the hand.

A finger was partially shot off as he tried to keep his attacker from taking his gun. Curtis was arrested an hour after the shooting when he showed up at a car parked near the corner. Police are still looking for the second suspect.

 

FINGER COST IS FIVE YEARS
The Sun (1837-1989); Oct 5, 1954;
pg. 11

FINGER COST IS FIVE YEARS

Man Sent To Pen In Shooting of Policeman

Convicted of assaulting and shooting off the finger of a policeman after seizing the patrolman's gun, Roy Lee Curtis, 26, yesterday was sentenced to five years in the Penitentiary by Judge Emory H. Niles in Criminal Court.

Curtis, whose home is in Newark, N.J., was convicted of assaulting Patrolman Wallace Therien and of stealing the policeman's gun last August 20 in the vicinity of High and Hillen streets.

Testimony produced by James W. Murphy, prosecutor, disclosed that Patrolman Therien was attempting to dispel a noisy,drinking crowd at that intersection when the assault occurred.

Ordered Drinkers Inside

The policeman testified he cleared the corner earlier in the evening and instructed the men standing around to do their drinking on the inside of a tavern there.

He said when he returned later, the group again had assembled on the sidewalk and was drinking and making loud noises.

He said he asked Curtis to finish drinking a bottle of beer on the inside, but instead the Negro struck him in the face fracturing his nose. The policeman said he heard someone yell "get his gun," and immediately Curtis lunged for the weapon in its holster.

During the ensuing scuffle, Patrolman Therien testified someone hit him on the head with a bottle and stabbed him in the back. He said he clung to the barrel of the .38 calibre Colt while Curtis tugged on the other end.

The Following article dated 28 April 1953 says, 50 Officers scheduled to take their oath Thursday, the 28th was a Tuesday, so the Thursday after that would have been the 30th of April 1953. This tells us, Patrolman Wallace B. Therien started his career with the Baltimore Police department on 30 April 1953, he was shot in 1954, when he lost a finger in the shootout mentioned above.

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Copyright © 2002 Baltimore City Police History - Ret Det Kenny Driscoll 

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