Baldwin - Lt. Russell - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Police Chief Jack Clements stood alone on the overpass bridge and peered into the darkness. He was watching small beams of light moving about in the grassy area at the interchange of Interstate 74 with Indiana 32. The lights were from flashlights held by Marion County deputy sheriffs as they followed their trained dogs in search of a man believed to have shot a police officer. Chances are the Marion County officers had never heard of Lt. Russell Baldwin before getting the dispatch that an officer had been killed here. For that matter perhaps none of the dozens of troopers, deputies, marshals or officers from other cities knew much about Lt. Baldwin. But they were all here. They came from Lafayette, West Lafayette, Clinton and Dana. Deputies were here from Boone, Park, Clinton, Tippecanoe and Vermillion counties. They continued to come from all over West Central Indiana as the search that started shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday continued today. All had come because they wanted to help. This is a part of their job. The dangers in the job that are spoken of so often, but that aren’t as often realized by residents outside big cities suddenly become a real thing, and for many it was very close to home. Local officers went about their jobs in a professional manner. There were no cries of revenge or retaliation. There was not much in the way of conversation among the off-duty men who joined officers from other departments to search the surrounding area. There was no standing back as they approached potentially dangerous spots where the suspect might be waiting with a loaded gun, they probed each location with the determination of men wanting to get a job completed. Officers on duty had to confine their efforts to working within the city and continuing to handle business as usual. There were no gatherings on corners to discuss, what a good man Russell Baldwin was. They all knew him. A heavy silence hung over police headquarters as officers moved about answering calls and making their necessary reports. As those on duty passed their off-duty fellow officers each would search the other man’s face and then they would pass, speaking only each other’s first name and that was it. Nothing more. Chief Clements walked with his head bowed. Maybe it was to protect his face from the blowing rain or maybe he was deep in thought. It was apparent he didn’t want to talk about Lt. Baldwin. He did lash out at the system that he said has been easy with criminals for years and more concerned about rehabilitation than keeping known criminals off the streets. “People in rural communities are going to have to realize things are changing and we do have a crime problem,” he said. The man suspected of shooting Lt. Baldwin was involved in an arm robbery case less than two years ago. “This is not the end,” Clements said. “This is where we are going to have to start.” City officers may have been too stunned by the killing to have a full understanding of its impact. “They will think about it in a couple of days when they have time,” the chief commented. Two city squad cars met on a country intersection. The men piled out of the cars as if to engage in conversation. They stood almost embarrassed for a moment before one said, “Russ is dead.” All knew it. The officers got back into their cars and drove off in opposite directions. – jlr

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Source: Obituary from a collection of Fauniel Hershbarger, a life-long Fountain County Indiana resident

By DICK ROBINSON Staff Writer

Police officers from more than a dozen different departments were here Tuesday night and today, taking part in the manhunt for the suspected killer of Lt. Russell Baldwin of the Crawfordsville police. Eighty law officers started gathering here about 10 p.m. Tuesday after learning of the killing. It is reported they continued to pour into the area near the intersection of Indiana 32 and Interstate 74 as fast as they could be relieved from their regular duties. Some of the first to arrive were deputy sheriffs from four other counties with trained dogs to be used in the search. Those officers were from Boone, Marion, Parke and Tippecanoe counties. State Police Lt. Richard Shelton, commander of the Lafayette post, was one of the first to arrive. He took command of the operation. He requested all off-duty troopers in his district to report east of here to assist with the search. Today he had 20 troopers assigned to his command post located near the intersection of Indiana 32 and the interstate. Off-duty city officers started with the manhunt late Tuesday night and were continuing today without sleep or time off for food or rest. Those officers having to report for regular duty were immediately replaced by others coming off a tour of duty. The same procedure was used by officers from other cities. Off-duty men were on hand to help and departments that could spare men from normal assignments were permitted to join the manhunt. Tuesday’s night efforts proved to be fruitless as officers tried to find any sign of the suspect in a steady rain. Today Shelton provided officers with county maps so that they might check every building in the area where the man could be hiding. Tuesday night officers used dogs and a helicopter in an effort to flush the man from his hiding place. The suspect’s smashed getaway car remained parked on the highway until deputies with dogs arrived and could check the vehicle for the man’s scent. The search first centered in a cornfield northeast of the interstate. Marion County deputies were the first in the area with dogs. One deputy said he found tracks going into the field and from the way his dog reacted he was positive the man was in that field, The dogs were unable to continue to search because of the rain that started to fall as they entered the field. The deputy said while he and another deputy were checking the field they heard what they thought was the sound of a pistol shot. Other than a neighboring family, they were the only ones to hear the sound. Officers speculated the man’s gun had discharged accidently. There was one rumor that the suspect might have shot himself to avoid capture. Helicopters covered the field with searchlights Tuesday and made closer inspections today without any signs of a man. The manhunt was resumed at 7 a.m. today. The sky was overcast and a rain was falling. The starting time was delayed for an hour. “We try to think about what a guy like this is thinking about and what he would do and we just don’t know,” Shelton said. Police Chief Jack Clements said, “It is just a matter of guesswork.” Shelton said he was concerned about keeping communication lines open so officers would not be shooting one another. The officer said he felt the weather was in the suspect’s favor. Officers not taking part in the manhunt covered the area warning residents that the man was on the loose and they should be cautious. Many left house lights on and it is believed many stayed awake throughout the night. Early today area residents were calling authorities and requesting that police officers come by their homes and check their cars and out-buildings before they would venture outside. State Police Supt. Robert DeBard, a former resident of this city, arrived here about 2 a.m. today, and discussed the search plans with Shelton. He stood guard at a cornfield with other officers while dogs searched for the man. He promised Shelton all possible help. Female employees of the police department, who work in the communication center, reported for work to assist the officers with radio dispatches. They stayed on the job all night, the same as the men. – jlr

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Lt. Russell Baldwin killed by gunman

Source: Crawfordsville Journal Review, August 28, 1974

By DICK ROBINSON Staff Writer

City police Lt. Russell Baldwin was shot and killed about 9 p.m. Tuesday while attempting to apprehend a man whom he believed had robbed the Grab-It-Here Store minutes earlier. The killer fled on foot. Baldwin was reportedly shot once in the left side, near the heart, with a .45 caliber revolver. Witnesses told police at least two shots were fired and there could have been as many as three. Two empty shells were found near the officer’s body. Police are searching for additional shells. The dead officer’s pistol was still in its holster and buckled down. Baldwin was shot after he had chased and stopped the suspected getaway car in the 300 block of Lafayette Avenue just north of North Street. Deputy Sheriff Dean Decker pursued the assailant’s car after the shooting to Interstate 74 where both vehicles headed east. Police Jack R. Clements also took up the chase along the interstate. He said he was just a quarter of a mile behind the deputy and the suspect’s car. The car left the highway on the ramp leading to Indiana 32 with Decker only a few yards behind. At the junction with the state highway the suspect’s late model Cadillac crashed into a westbound car. The name of the driver of the vehicle hit by the suspect was not immediately available. Just as the cars collided Trooper Dave Blue was approaching the same intersection from the west. He was en route to intercept the getaway car at the intersection. Blue said he applied his brakes and was barely able to avoid the cars as his cruiser skidded beyond the intersection. Decker was able to stop in time to avoid striking the Cadillac in the rear, and Clements was directly behind the deputy. Blue said he leaped from his car and approached the smashed getaway vehicle from the front while Clements and the deputy took the rear. The officers found the car empty and none could say that he saw the driver leave the vehicle. The man vanished in the darkness. That touched off a manhunt that continued today as police officers from over West Central Indiana converged on the city to take part. They probed the area with the aid of a state police helicopter despite poor flying conditions. Patrolman Phil Roach, who had just completed the investigation of an accident on Wabash Avenue with Baldwin, was just driving past police headquarters with his lieutenant when they received a report of the supermarket robbery. Roach said he left the squad car in the 100 block of North Water Street so he could approach the store on foot from the rear. Baldwin remained with the car and headed for the store, located on East Market Street. As Roach was making his way along the railroad adjacent to the store’s parking lot he said he saw Baldwin make a U-turn and head west with the car’s red lights on in (Continued on page 17) (Continued from page one) pursuit of a large dark automobile. The patrolman said he listened to Baldwin on his portable radio as the lieutenant chased the car north of Lafayette Avenue. “He was very calm and didn’t seem to be excited as he broadcast a description of the car and its license plate,” the patrolman said. Roach waited at the corner of Water and Market Streets and was preparing to get into a second squad car occupied by Sgt. Bill Clements and Patrolmen Rick Wilson when they heard a strange voice on the police radio shout. “An officer has been shot.” That was the first word the three had that Baldwin was in any trouble. They were able later to identify the person making the call as Steve Grissom of 703 W. Wabash Ave. The three officers were at the scene of the shooting within two minutes of receiving Grissom’s report. Trooper Tim McCarty was the first officer there, according to Roach. “When we got there Russ was face down on the pavement on the driver’s side of his car with his head toward the rear of the car,” Roach said. Patrolman Wilson said Baldwin had been shot once and hit near where his badge was pinned. He said it was his opinion Baldwin had been standing outside his car when shot and was apparently approaching or waiting for the suspect to approach him. Shipley’s ambulance arrived moments after the officers. The ambulance was returning from Culver Hospital after an accident run, and its attendants also had heard the call that an officer had been shot. Baldwin was taken to the hospital and died a short time later. A woman, who was a witness to the shooting and whom police refuse to identify because the suspect remains at large, told police she saw a man walk toward a policeman standing beside his car. She said she continued north of Lafayette Avenue and saw a car pull away from the squad car, also going north. She said she pulled into a drive to avoid the car because she thought the driver might be chasing her. The getaway car continued north. Deputy Decker had heard the robbery alarm while on duty at the jail. He explained he went directly for the interstate on U. S. 231. His plan was to block a possible avenue of escape. He said as he was preparing to enter the ramp he was passed by a car matching the description of the getaway vehicle. The suspect’s car stopped at the junction of the ramp and the interstate. “It appeared the driver was confused and I opened my car door and started to get out when the car sped away,” Decker said. The grocery robbery netted the gunman about $150, according to Roach. Employes of the store said they noticed the man approaching the establishment from the opposite side of Market Street. He was described as a male Negro, about six feet tall, weighing 210 pounds and wearing a blue knit shirt and dark trousers. Inside the store he walked about for a short time, then approached the checkout counter and purchased a package of cigarettes. According to Juanita Conner of Waynetown, cashier, he next walked to the office window. She said he turned to her and said, “Come here.” The man then told her to call the manager, because he had a complaint. The cashier said she informed Greg Eugene Goodman, the manager. As Goodman approached the robber pulled a gun from his belt and said, “Everybody be still and open the safe. Give me all the bills and no coins. Goodman said he opened the safe and handed the money to the robber. Police said the man was carrying a brown paper bag but crumbled it up and tossed it on the floor. He next instructed the cashier to give him the money from the cash registers. The man reportedly placed money the cashier gave him in his left pants pocket and the bills from the safe in the right pocket. He walked from the store and headed back across Market Street in an easterly direction. Officers specualted he had parked a getaway car on Whitlock Avenue. A store employe placed a call to the police, and that was the message that sent Baldwin toward the supermarket. The last shootings in which Crawfordsville police officers were injured, in neither instance fatally, occurred in late November, 1935, and early January, 1936. Both incidents involved pursuit of robbery suspects. Charles Johnson, driving a patrol car and accompanied by Capt. Charles Curtin, was hospitalized by face and head lacerations when a bullet from the pursued vehicle shattered the windshield. Less seriously hurt by the flying glass, Curtin was able to drive the patrol car to the hospital. A few weeks later another patrolman, Paul Middleton, was similarly hurt by glass when a bullet from the vehicle of fleeing bandits shattered a patrol car windshield. Lt. Baldwin, 44, of 513 Wilson Ave., was a 12-year veteran of the Crawfordsville Police Department. He completed the Basic Police Training School at Indiana University and had completed several police training courses including communications, standard first aid, supervision of police personnel, police and the community relations, mental health seminar and public safety seminar. Lt. Baldwin had been a sergeant on the force from Jan. 1. 1972, until his promotion to shift lieutenant March 15, 1974. Born Nov. 11, 1929, at Fort Wayne, he was a son of Harvey and Elsie Eubank Baldwin. He was married to Mary Lou McMurray on July 27, 1952, at Crawfordsville. She survives. He attended schools at New Market, where he was a member of the basketball and baseball teams. Also surviving are a son, Eugene at home; a daughter, Mrs. Carolyn Payne of Fennville, Mich.; four brothers, Harold of Memphis, Tenn., John of Plainfield, Kenneth of Orville, Ohio, and Dale of Potomic, Ill.; two sisters, Mrs. Donald (Fay) Swisher of Crawfordsville and Mrs. Martha Carrell of Browns Valley; two stepbrothers, Howard Hites of Homesville, Ohio, and Merle Hites of Florida; a step-sister, Mrs. Doris Herpel of Wooster, Ohio; two grandchildren; and aunts and uncles. Services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday in Hunt & Son Funeral Home with the Rev. Homer Cochran officiating. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 2 p.m. Thursday. – jlr

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Death penalty vacated for Lt. Baldwin’s killer