SHOTS N' STORIES - FIREARMS AND FIREWORKS 1960

FIREARMS & FIREWORKS - 1960

by 

Dick Alley

             Prior to writing stories about the outdoors, I was a Police Officer. Sworn in  October 1959, I retired in April or 1986. It was a great career, working with some of the greatest people I ever met. Most days were routing, but I was quickly alerted to the serious side of  police work in early July of my rookie year. The story comes from my original notes on that fateful evening.  

           

    I was working the midnight to eight shift.  I had been on the job less than a year. Sgt. Joe Buccieri was Shift Commander. I was assigned to patrol the northeast part of town. Don Bennette had the Saugatuck (southwest) patrol.  Chet Cornell (Pappy) was the senior guy and had the Post Road beat and George (Skip) Stanton was assigned southeast patrol.

    After our briefing, I headed out through the main lobby and yelled a greeting to Andrew (Ande) Chapo who was our regular desk officer. Desk officers didn't attend muster. He was just settling in behind the desk and waved as he removed his gun and holster and put them in a desk drawer, just like he did every night.  

            

    The night got off to a slow start, just the way we wanted it. We all had to report for duty at the annual PAL fireworks show by 5 PM the next day. In those days that was volunteer duty. No pay. Part of the job. With another midnight shift following the fireworks, we knew we'd be dragging the next night.

    A little before 2:00 am, Chet Cornell found an open door at the rear of Cafe Barna on the Post Road.  The Restaurant was located where Ed Mitchell's is now. I was parked in the center of town watching traffic and headed east for back-up. By the time I arrived, Chet was inside and Skip was also pulling up. Chet and Skip proceeded to check the inside.

    Moments earlier, Brendan McLaughlin had fired several shots from a Colt-45, semi-automatic pistol intentionally killing his father at the family residence on Gorham Island. He then left the house and headed straight for the Westport Police Department, less than half-a-mile away.

    Don Bennette had already made his first arrest of the night shift. Somebody was too lazy to go around the rotary before making the left turn onto Treadwell Avenue at the intersection of Treadwell and Riverside and Don caught him. After writing the summons, he drove to Headquarters, left his car in front of the entrance and went inside to hand Ande the summons so he could enter it in the daily log.

    McLaughlin pulled up in the parking lot, walked through the door, his Colt Army forty-five in hand and shot Don, hitting him in the hip, the bullet then striking the main desk where it became lodged and remained for many years. The bullet sent Don spinning through the open door connecting the lobby and the locker room. McLaughlin then turned to Ande, aimed the pistol at his head and pulled the trigger. That's when God stepped in. The firing pin clicked on a dead round. Ande hit the radio mic button with one hand, scrambled to get the drawer open to get his gun with the other and sent out the emergency signal for officer needs assistance. Up at Cafe Barna, our radio's crackled. " Put that gun down", yelled Ande. "All cars. Signal 100 Headquarters".

    McLaughlin turned and headed for the door, clearing his  gun while fleeing. Ande followed and chased him outside where McLaughlin again turned and fired, and Ande took a bullet to the leg. Don picked himself up off the floor, not even realizing he had been shot at the time and also ran outside in pursuit of McLaughlin.

 

    Chet, Skip and I had just finished the building check at Cafe Barna and jumped into our cars. We drove big black, stick-shift Olds 98s in those days and we were doing 80 mph before we got into third gear. We were about a mile from the station.

      As we pulled into the lot, McLaaughlin was between Don's patrol car and the front door.  Don and Ande were in the parking lot, manuevering for shooting angles and cover. Within seconds, the rest of us pulled into the lot.   Skip joined Ande on one side of the lot and I was next to Don on the other side. A few shots were exchanged when McLaughlin suddenly made a break for the lobby entrance. Don and I both fired and we saw McLaughlin open the door and enter the building.

George "Skip" Stanton

Skip saw him stumble, then charged the door and saw McLaughlin on the floor, holding his stomach. Skip kicked McLaughlin's gun away from his body and covered him. McLaughlin was holding his stomach and bleeding. We were all back in  the building and the phone behind the desk was ringing. Don answered it

and was told of an "emergency" on Gorham Island. Don hadn't yet realized he was wounded. The only person left on the road was our Shift Commander, Sgt. Joe Buccieri. Don asked him to go to Gorham Island telling him that everybody was pretty busy. At this time, Sgt. Buccieri had no idea that two of his men were wounded along with the perpetrator and he went to cover the call. Skip took possession of McLaughlin's gun, handed it to me and told me to secure it in the squad room. I put it in my locker.

    Ande staggered through the door, bleeding profusely and Chet sat him down in the lobby and applied a tourniquet. At about the same time, Don suddenly felt pain, grabbed his side and loosened his belt and saw the bullet wound. Skip had already called the town ambulance. We put McLaughlin in the ambulance and Don and Ande in Chet's patrol car and they all headed for the hospital. That's when Sgt. Buccieri called in to say he had a homicide victim at Gorham Island and to send some guys up there. I explained that there was nobody to send and filled him in on the shooting at Headquarters. Skip was the senior officer and said he would go to Gorham Island. He had already called Sgt. Marks and told me to call the Captain (Rosenau) and I  suddenly found myself the only cop available on the entire shift.

     Captain Louis Rosenau was there within minutes, closely followed by Sgt. George Marks who headed up the Detective Bureau. Within minutes,  Detective Bill Smith and Technician George Ward arrived. The Captain instructed me to call Captain Al Brown and also Desk Officer Skinner to relieve me. The Captain notified Chief Luciano.

    The next few hours were pretty confusing. Once relieved from the desk, I was assigned to block off the parking area and guard it and following that, more personnel were brought in and I was told to make notes of the events and write out a statement. (I still have my original notes).

    I arrived home around mid-morning and went to bed but sleeping was a problem. The adrenalin was up. Plus the phone kept ringing as I explained to family and friends the events of the previous night after the news hit the media. I finally managed a couple of hours before having to report for duty at the annual fireworks display at Compo Beach and I was due in again at midnight. The fireworks ended at about 10 PM and I hit the wall. I was exhausted. I remember going to the Captain and telling him I didn't know how I would stay awake all night. He suggested I try and get someone to cover my shift. I finally reached Tony Fiore and he agreed to cover my shift but I had to pay him back a few days later. It gives me a chuckle today every time I read about an officer being put on leave following a gun incident. Under today's rules I would probably have had to take several days off.

    Next day, I was able to get to Norwalk Hospital and visit Don and Ande. McLaughlin was also a patient there and had to be guarded at all times. I parked in the lot and who gets out of a car a few spaces away but the McLaughlin family. I knew and liked Brendan's brother Ross and we all exchanged awkward words over what had happened.

    It was back to work the next night and everything settled down into normal patrol duties once again. Don and Ande both recovered after several weeks. Both retired as Lieutenants several years later. Ande was later injured while working a fire in the center of town when he fell and hurt his back. That injury eventually forced his retirement. Don also fell and badly injured his arm one night several years later.

    I also made Lieutenant and retired as an Inspector in 1986. Don currently lives in Arizona. Ande passed away a few years back. Bill Smith attained the rank of Captain before retiring and then suffered a massive heart attack while grocery shopping one day. George Ward retired as a Lieutenant and also moved to Arizona where he later died. George Marks ran the Detective Bureau until his retirement as a Lieutenant and lived past age 90.   His son, George Jr. also completed a police career at WPD and is currently retired and living in the Carolina's. Both Skip Stanton and Chet Cornell resigned from the Department for personal reasons within a few years of the incident. Skip passed away a number of years ago and I lost track of Chet. Lt. Joe Buccieri retired and lived past the age of 90, dying in upstate Connecticut.

        Brendan McLaughlin spent a number of days in intensive care at Norwalk Hospital before dying from his wounds. The Coroner ruled it a justifiable homicide. His brother Ross gave up on plans to join the Department and went on to a career in the military.

        

    All of the officers involved in the gun battle received Commendations from the National Police Officer's Association. It was quite a night---with more fireworks than anyone could ever imagine.

                            Dick Alley

                            Inspector-Retired

                            Westport Police Department