Excitement on the Ridge 100 Years Ago
By Carol Flynn
It’s fascinating to read through old newspaper accounts of “breaking news” as the details of an event came to light in the past. Continuing our look at happenings on the Ridge from 100 years ago, here is a dramatic story that involved Beverly that unfolded over several months’ time.
Early on Monday, January 3, 1921, Chicago policeman John Mullen was fatally shot at a restaurant in Lincoln Gardens at Lincoln Avenue and Wells Street on the north side.
The Chicago Tribune reported that day one version of what had happened. At about 12:45 a.m., two men and women were seated at a table and the women got up and left. Right at that time, Mrs. May Roden, a coat-check employee, laughed loudly at a friend’s joke. One of the men pulled a gun on her and threatened her, believing she was laughing at him because the women had “ditched” him.
Roden alerted the restaurant owner, John Ballash, who sent for the police. Mullen was on foot patrol just half a block away and headed for the restaurant. As he entered the restaurant, he encountered a man who was leaving. He told the man to come back inside while he investigated the situation. He entered the restaurant in front of the man. The man pulled a gun and shot Mullen point-blank in the back, then fled out the door.
Another newspaper, the Rock Island Argus, reported a slightly different story. A group of six, three men and three women, were in the restaurant. One of the women laughed at her escort and he pulled a gun on her. The proprietor sent for the police. As Mullen was approaching the gunman, the gunman shot him, then fled.
What happened next with Mullen is outlined in police reports from the time, and other newspaper articles.
Other police officers arrived on the scene. Mullen was transported to Augustana Hospital where he received blood transfusions donated by fellow officers. He was taken into surgery and he died on the operating table at 3:50 a.m.
Mullen was 27 years old and still on probationary status, having joined the police force on November 11, less than two months before this fatal day. He was an honorably discharged veteran of World War I; he had served overseas with the U.S. Army Infantry. He lived with his parents at 1430 N. Clybourne Avenue. His father was Edward J. Mullen, a leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. John Mullen left a fiancé, Violet Johnson.
According to the newspapers, the other men and women involved in the incident were held by the police. One man at the table identified himself as John Crosby and his companion who had fled as “Eddie.” The police believed the men had planned on robbing the restaurant.
Next post: The manhunt is on to find “Eddie.”