Nothing to Step On

Nothing to Step on a.k.a. Lady Stepped out of her Car and Fell Six Feet in a Ditch

I had another incident where a lady was driving through town and she passed a car and saw that her husband was in the car with another woman. This was a dark and foggy night. And they got in pursuit – the lady who’d seen her husband in the car turned around and pursued the other car with the intentions of dragging the other driver out of the car and beating her up.

They run all over town. We got a couple of complaints on cars racing. And they got over in to the Oak Hills area, Martin Addition. And at that time there was a dead end street where you couldn’t get from up at Oak Hills to the Martin Addition. So, this girl who had the husband in the car went in that area and she managed to turn around and get out. But the lady that was chasing her pulled up and stopped, then backed up with great momentum and straddled a ditch that was about six feet high. The back end of her car was lodged on the opposite bank, and the front end was on the opposite side. So, she probably thought she was on level ground.

She opened the door and stepped out and went down six feet. I went over there to where the car was, and there was a pair of shoes stuck in the mud and claw marks on the bank. But the lady got out some how or another.

But, I thought that was quite humorous. I imagine she had quite a startled feeling when she stepped out and there wasn’t anything to step on.

Hard Crimes to Solve

Hard Crimes to Solve

Burglaries was one of the hardest crimes to solve. I think the national solve rate was about 15%. They’d either have to leave something at the crime scene that you could identify them by later, or carry something away that you could trace back to them. And that didn’t always happen.

We would look near the scene of a burglary. Sometimes they would stash their stolen goods in a secluded area nearby, and sometimes we’d be lucky enough to come upon their stash and we’d stake it out. And then when they came back for it we’d make the arrest.

We had a burglary at a saddle shop at the fairgrounds where they kept horses and tack. So, I made arrangements to stake the place out. I went in, was dropped off, and just barely got there –… out near the city dump – and they come to pick up the saddles.

And it was in the woods, with quite a bit of brush that concealed the area well. As they stepped in, I stepped out. And as they stepped in one of them said, “g.d. where’d you get ‘em?” And they said, “fairgrounds.”

So, I made the arrest there and anxiously waited for a cruiser to come by to assist me.

Gangs at the Big Top

(Disturbing content)

*Names have been changed, RHB

Gangs at the Big Top

After I’d been at the department about three years we’d got a gang, a bunch of people in around town. They would pull in to a drive-in like the Big Top and jerk you out of your car and beat the crap out of you and then take off. And, that happened to *Clive Brent. And, the people that were doing it were some of my relatives. One of ‘em was a *Styles, and a *Hudson. I wasn’t kin to *Hudson.

Anyway, they went to Newport and started raisin’ cain in one of the bars down there. The bartender got his shotgun out and shot Hudson’s head off, and then beat the others in the back of the head with the stock of the gun.

They come to Greeneville cryin’ and complainin’ and wantin’ justice.

They had seen what justice was in Newport.

High Speed Wrecks

(Some disturbing content)

*Names changed, RHB

High Speed Wrecks

I was parked at the Ashway Drive-in site one night, and a Mustang came from the direction of Asheville at a high rate of speed. Went through in front of me, and I pulled out and turned on my blue lights and siren. The guy ran - it was a ’65 Mustang I believe - and they ran up to the intersection of West Main and the Asheville Highway, went across the railroad tracks, and turned left on Irish Street. 

He went up there a little piece and lost it, turned upside down over a ditch. And, all I could see was elbows and arms and knees. The car was packed full of people, and I said, “Oh, no. Probably we’ve experienced a kill here.” 

But they all crawled out, come crawlin’ out and all of ‘em were well. One of them was a *Henson boy that I knew quite well. I said, “*Henson, why did you let that driver drive that crazy?” He said, well it was his car, he could drive the way he wants to. 

So, about, I don’t remember, two or three months - maybe more, maybe less - later a young couple was found dead off the road in a car wreck on the 11-E, down near Dead Man’s Curve. And one of them was the *Henson boy. And, they’d laid there for hours, they’d wrecked during the night. Apparently, the driver was going at a high rate of speed and killed both of ‘em.

Doughty-Stevens Burglary

(*Names have been changed. RHB)

Some disturbing content

Doughty-Stevens Burglary

Reporting to work one morning Doughty-Stevens called me and said they’d had a burglary in their hardware, and there had been several guns stolen … long guns, short guns, pistols. Everett Graham and I worked the crime scene. We didn’t come up with too much evidence at the scene, but at that time the bus station was across the street from Doughty-Stevens, so we checked the bus station and had them check with the drivers and see if they might have picked anybody up carrying boxes, or loaded boxes there. Sure enough they had. 

One young man had loaded several heavy boxes on to a bus, and he got off the bus and took the boxes off in Knoxville. So, Everett and I went to Knoxville, and we got there late afternoon, and found out the young man had checked into the Andrew Johnson Hotel in downtown Knoxville. 

So, we got with two detectives there in Knoxville and staked the room out. Spent several boring hours there and the man finally come in about 2:30 in the morning. He went into the room, and Everett and I and the two Knoxville detectives went back to the room. One of the detectives went out on the fire escape where he could see inside. So, knocked on the door, the Knoxville detective knocked on the door, and a voice from inside said, “Who is it?” and the Knoxville detective said, “Desk.” So, he opened the door and we rushed in. He said, “It’s a damn good thing you said desk, ‘cause I’d be shootin’ through the door.” 

He had pistols under the pillows, pistols in his pockets. And, we arrested him to bring him back to Greeneville. He was born a, born a *Samuels but he was befriended by an older man named *Holmes. I can’t remember his first name. Anyway, I rode in the backseat with him, we had a long conversation coming back from Knoxville to Greeneville.

He looked at me and grinned and said have you had any interesting fires in downtown Greeneville lately. I said, “yeah, did you set it?” He said, “no.” We’d had a Milbanks burn a great deal of the downtown stores. So, I checked, and he was in a institution, But, I checked with the institution, he’d been here in Greeneville on that weekend the fire had been set, visiting, on a leave. 

*Samuels, I think he was about 16 years old, he was a juvenile, and his foster parent brought him - he was going to court the next day - brought him a necktie. We went back to the cell and he was hanging with his feet on the floor, but he was - he was dead.

So, he told me enough that we more or less closed the books on the arson cases downtown. He told me that he had intended to set Doughty-Stevens on fire. The reason he didn’t was that it would have drawn attention to him too quick, or to the burglary too quick.

Pinto Beans

Pinto Beans

Went on a domestic when I was working patrol, over in the housing projects. Had a southern boy’d married a girl from New York, and they were in an argument, probably a fight. But, anyway, when I got there it was all verbal.

And this New York girl said to this southern boy, “And another thing, all I ever get to eat is pinto beans, pinto beans. I’d like to have a pork chop every now and then.”

(chuckles) Pinto beans, she didn’t realize, being from the north, that pinto beans was a staple, a lifeline in Tennessee.

So, I don’t know if she ever got her pork chop or not.

I hope she got one. 

Armed Robberies on the Boulevard (some disturbing content)

(Some disturbing content.)

Armed Robberies on the Boulevard

We were having a series of armed robberies on Tusculum Boulevard … the service stations, 7-11’s, motels. Well, we got a call one night that there was an armed robbery in progress and Gilbert Burger was the first on the scene. He went in and somebody run outside, out by him - got away.

But the proprietor had one lying on the floor. The guy’d pulled a weapon, demanded money. Was a 32 automatic, I believe, is what the perpetrator was carrying. Instead of giving money, the owner of the motel had pulled a single action 22 pistol out and fired three shots, and all three shots hit him (the perpetrator) around the heart, one of ‘em penetrated the heart, so he died on the spot, but, he’d shot the proprietor in the knee with his 32.

So, the guy that got away was caught later walking towards Kingsport on Kiser Boulevard. I was questioning him about who was who, and what was what, and how many people were involved. Found out there was three, and I told him his friend was dead and he wouldn’t believe me. He said, “you’re joking.” I said I wouldn’t joke about something like that.

Well, before we’d caught the guy that got away, I’d gone to the hospital to view the cadaver, and I thought, well, I’ll make a line up using his photo to see if I can clear up some of these other cases of armed robbery on the boulevard. Well, the guy had an expression on his face of sheer horror, and his mouth was open and his eyes were wide. And I’d push his chin up and it’d pop back open. I was trying to get a good photo for a photo line-up. Finally, I propped his chin somehow and got a picture, and took it in the photo line-up to the victims of the other armed robberies and they identified him as being the perpetrator. So … uh ... I don’t think he was expecting to be carried back in a body bag when he came to town that night.

The person that did the shooting was, uh … he never did get over it. He finally sold his motel and moved out of town. I don’t know what happened to him. But, I commented to him to try to make him feel better that he did what was necessary, and that seemed to make him feel a little better.

Bootlegger

(Names have been changed, RHB)

Bootlegger

Ron Hendrick who lives on Halsey Avenue was a well-known bootlegger, selling moonshine, and he was extremely hard to catch. So I made up my mind I was going to catch him. So I observed - I parked a cruiser, an unmarked cruiser, off in the distance where I could see the house - and watched the house for a while. 

And a cab would come in and people would get out, go back to the cab in a short amount of time and pull out. So, the second or third cab, I knew the guy that was in the car, in the cab, so I stopped the cab, questioned the guy in the back, and he said, yeah, he’d bought liquor there, just now, that he ought to turn Ron in because the last liquor he’d bought there made him real sick. So, I got enough information to get a search warrant. Search warrants are very hard to get. 

So, the guy’d told me, says he’s got the moonshine hid in a half a gallon jar behind a broom sittin’ near the refrigerator in the kitchen. So, we looked everywhere before I went to that broom because I didn’t want the guy to deduct it, that somebody had told me where he kept his moonshine. He’d identify that guy and he’s liable to give him a hard time because he was a pretty notorious person. So, I looked behind the broom at that point and didn’t see it. I said oh no … then I got the broom, pulled it out and there sat a half-gallon of moonshine. So, we arrested Ron for selling un-taxed liquor. And, had put the evidence in the evidence room. 

Well, before trial come, the evidence room was cleaned out, and not knowing that case had not been to trial, my evidence was poured out. But, it wasn’t two months later Ron died. But, I was devastated when I found out they’d poured my evidence out. I was the only one who’d ever gotten enough information to get a search warrant and find anything there.

His son, Matt Hendrick, used to be a moonshine runner. And Matt was traveling in a ’58 Chevrolet convertible one night. I was parked on Tusculum Boulevard in a ’65 Ford, hot as a fire-cracker. And, Matt come through and I saw him in my headlights, and he was loaded, sittin’ down heavy in the back. So, I pulled out after him and Matt took off. And, he took chances that I couldn’t take. 

Finally, he went over to turn right on Taylor Lane, went up toward the Foundry, and he was going so fast he was bottoming out, he’d go up to here and come down and sparks would fly from under the car. And I thought well this is too wild for me, so I backed off and went and got a warrant for him for reckless driving. And, I was waiting for him to come home, sitting up the street a little bit. He come home, why I called for back-up. 

We went in to serve the warrant, and I told them to wait until I got behind the house and knock on the door. And they knocked on the door and I saw Matt come easing out the back door and went in a cellar, a trap door in a floor. He pulled it down and it had a little hole in it. And, uh, I went in the back door and said, Matt come out. Well, he had his finger stuck up through that little hole holding the door down. So, I put some pressure on that finger with my foot and he turned it loose. And we got him in the police headquarters and I was questioning him, “Matt you got another load by me didn’t you?” He grinned real big. And, he later was involved in a wreck and, did a lot of brain damage. 

He was fast, a good driver, but too fast and wild, and he started burglarizing places. To start with he had a beautiful wife and fine family and he just let that go and become a thug. But after he had his wreck and brain damage and started burglarizing places and you could always get a confession out of him if you’d say “Matt, that was the slickest job I ever saw. That’s the slickest job you’ve ever done.” And he’d light up and say yeah that was pretty slick wasn’t it. And we’d discuss it a while, and then I’d get my confession and go to court. 

And, the last time I saw Matt and talk to him was at the White Store. It was Christmas, and he asked me if I could give him some money, so I gave him $5.00, and he almost went into tears and said, “you’d do that for me?” I said yeah, Matt, you’re alright. And, he, he never did quit his criminal ways. I’m not sure if he’s dead or still alive.

Chief Aud Shepherd and Driving a Straight Shift

Chief Aud Shepherd and Driving a Straight Shift

Aud Shepherd was the Chief of Police at that time. We called him Big Aud. He was from the old school. You did what he said and you did it right, otherwise you were gone. He’d been in law enforcement for about 30 years. He’s Chief of Police when I started working. 

I hadn’t driven a straight shift car in some time. And, we were around the office one day and he wanted me to take him somewhere. Straight shifts were all we had at the time. I was real nervous driving a straight shift and having the Chief with me. So, I went out, pulled up on Summer Street hill, at the Post Office, and the red light caught me so I had to sit there. And then when the red light changed you’re on a real steep hill. 

I did fine though. 

I didn’t break anything or back in to anybody.

Aunt Opal

Aunt Opal

I told my cousins right away that when they were right I’d help ‘em out, but when they were drunk or fighting or breaking the law they were going to jail. And they accepted that, and didn’t seem to hold a grudge.

 I had an aunt that was bad to get drunk and get disorderly. And, uh, one night we, the police department, received a call that a woman was walking down the middle of Bernard Avenue. And, it was after dark, and Bobby Britton was dispatched to check her out. Well, it turned out that the lady walking down Bernard Avenue was my Aunt Opal. 

So, she was cussing and carryin’ on, and on the way to the station. Bobby said, well Aunt Opal, don’t you recognize me? She said no, who are you. Bobby said, I’m Kenneth. She reached over and patted him on the back and said, god damn honey I didn’t recognize you. And she was civil all the way to the police department.

Drunk in the Burger Chef Rosebush

Drunk in the Burger Chef Rosebush

Back when the Burger Chef was under construction on Tusculum Boulevard, we received a call that there was an unruly person, a drunk person out in the street there. So, I can’t remember who I was with, but we went out there, and it was a [name removed] boy, that was all doped up. I told him he was under arrest, and he took off running. 

He run to the back, toward the back of the Burger Chef, and went off about a three foot, cinder block wall and fell - plowed down through the garden. I said, "well I got him now." 

And as I went off the wall I plowed right in beside him. So, he got up before I got up and started running. He ran into a huge rose bush,  and just went "kershouwg" in that rosebush. I got down there and he was saying, “Officer, I’m hurt. Officer, I’m hurt.” 

We finally got him out of the rosebush and put him under arrest. His brother was there, and his brother was a pretty nice boy, and he assisted in getting him to police headquarters.

But he had plowed into that rosebush and it was just, it had large thorns on it, just stuck in there. I was glad it was him in it instead of me.

My Most Embarrassing Moment

Click the link to hear Charles Kenneth Hinkle tell this story on SoundCloud.

https://soundcloud.com/user-103756823/ckh-most-embarrassing-moment

First Days and (Lifesaving) Nights with the Greeneville Police Department

First Days and Nights with the Greeneville Police Department

So, I put in an application with the Greeneville Police Department. At first hiring, I was passed over. I come in second on the list, and they hired Gilbert Burger. I took the test again and I came in first. They had the choice of hiring out of the top three. I was lucky to have moved in across the street from Pete Luttrell, who at that time was well known by Chief Aud Shepherd. Pete and Chief Shepherd were talking over about the top three, and Pete told him that Hinkle was a good man. Shepherd shook his head and said, “I don’t like the damn name Hinkle.” 

After I went to work in June 1965 I found out why he didn’t like the name Hinkle. Hinkles were always drunk, fighting or stealing or something. So, thanks to Pete I got to go to work for the Greeneville Police Department.

I started out working six days a week, graveyard shift. Well, I didn’t start out that. They put me on day shift first, for about a month. I walked the streets, wrote tickets and checked businesses. I was on straight days, then they put me on graveyard.

My first day at work I was put on the street with Jay Walker.  Our beat was Main Street, from one end to the other just about. We'd go right up by the bus station which was on the corner of Church and Main at that time. We'd check the bus station and then walk on up by the car wash that was on the right, belonged to Bill Whitehead. And we'd walk up to Laughlin Hospital across the street at the corner of Spencer, and walk back down checking meters. Joe Walker complained I like to walked him to death, that I never rested. I was on the beat with him about a week, then about a week I had it by myself.

Then they took me off the street and put me on graveyard, straight graveyard, six days a week.

At that time, we were riding two in a car, and J.R. Boles most of the time was my partner. He was a hard worker. He’d work graveyard shift and then go work on the farm for a dollar an hour. He’d come in tired and irritable and Bobby Britton would say something to get J.R. started, then I’d have to crawl in the car with him, and J.R. would complain most of the night … about something.

We were riding out the Asheville Hwy. I guess it was about 2:30 in the morning, we was working graveyard shift, and there was a cross along the road where says three people killed here. And, as we were going towards Asheville on the Asheville Hwy., we got a glimpse of somebody hanging on to that cross and then fall down the bank. J.R. looked at me and blinked, and I looked at J.R. and blinked, and I said, “Did you see what I saw?” He said, “yeah!” so we pulled up there and stopped.

A lady had wrecked and run off the bank and she’d just gathered enough strength to crawl back up to the top and hang, and hold on to the cross, and then passed out and fell back down the bank. So, we got an ambulance and got her out and she survived.

She wrote a nice letter to the chief of police telling how we’d saved her life.