Crime & Safety
GRPD Archives: The 1921 Berry-Picking Shooting
You're free to go but promise you won't shoot him again, police chief tells Glen Rock man on Aug. 7, 1921.
How times have changed.
On Aug. 7, 1921, South Maple Avenue resident Roy Way told Glen Rock police he was "shot by an unknown person while picking berries in [the] sand pit."
Police Chief James R. Houlihan investigated and determined shots were fired from the premises of a Mr. Dougherty on Lincoln Avenue, according to the archives.
"As Mr Way refused to make any complaint, Mr Dougherty was reprimanded by Chief Houlihan and let go under the promise that there would be no more shooting," a Facebook post detailing the incident states.
The police department of the small, agrarian borough had only been formed in 1918. Houlihan, a former Ridgewood police officer, patrolled the town on a bicycle. He was joined by two other officers, both of whom would retire before the close of 1921.
Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The first police car would not be purchased until 1923.
Learn more about the history of Glen Rock's police force (compiled by Sgt. Dean Ackerman) here.
Find out what's happening in Ridgewood-Glen Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
