| Accession# |
VE5-2010 |
| Catalog date |
02/17/2010 |
| Collection |
OSHP Collections |
| Date of photo |
1950-1965 |
| Description |
Though the reconversion to peacetime conditions had allowed Patrol operations to return to normal, the nation's attention to defencse and preparedness brought the Patrol back into civil defense work.
In February 1948, the Division unveiled its new system for handling major disasters, using methods proven successful the previous year in Texas. The plan involved the entire uniformed Division (326 men at that point) and more than 1,800 Auxiliary officers prepared to implement perimeter controls and traffic routing. The use of aircraft was to be an important element, though the Patrol did not yet have permission to purchase one - that came later the same year. In addition, five new mobile radio trailers, each pulled by a jeep, would serve well in these efforts.
The preparedness plan proved valuable in capturing two desperados who, in July 1948, went on a murder spree. Robert Daniels and John West, two ex-convicts who were regarded as dangerous and unstable even by fellow inmates, brutally murdered John Niebel, farm manager at the Mansfield Reformatory, and his wife and daughter. Both already ran from other charges. The two fled to Cleveland and the next day went to Indiana to "hide out," only to return to Ohio thereafter.
They stopped in Tiffin to sleep, then decided to steal another vehicle, because they had driven the same car since before the murders. This led to two more murders, one a motorist and another a truck driver, before officials realized that West and Daniels were in the area and effected the Patrol blockade plan.
All posts in District A (Findlay) were contacted by telephone and told to put blockade plans M16 (Maumee River) and M15 (Sandusky River) into effect. All local police agencies were contacted and also went to full alert. Law enforcement officials questioned West after he approached a checkpoint, driving an auto rig stolen from a murder victim. One of the officers discovered Daniels, and ordered him out of the car at gunpoint. West decided to run for it, and opened fire on one officer, who was wounded but returned fire, killing West. Daniels was captured without incident.
A local editorial hailed the capture, recalling the disastrous failure of a Patrol manhunt from 14 years prior that fell apart due to communication disorganization. The article stated that it was the planning and advancement in the Division's blockade procedure, and smooth cooperation amongst law enforcement agencies, that resulted in the successful capture of Daniels and West.
|
| Year Range from |
1950 |
| Category |
8: Communication Artifact |
| Year range to |
1965 |
| Object ID |
VE5-2010-002 |
| Object Name |
Print, Photographic |
|
